Another example of false context is this tweet that
circulated on election day during the 2018 midterm
elections. It was based on a genuine video of a broken
voting machine that was highlighting the wrong name
when pressed. The machine was taken out of operation
and the person was given the opportunity to vote on
a machine that was working correctly. This tweet,
pushed by someone with a username clearly connected
with the QAnon conspiracy, used the video to push
the idea that this was a more serious example of
targeted voter fraud.
One user spread this video
of a broken voter machine
as evidence of widespread
voter fraud. In reality, the
machine was taken out
of commission and the voter
was allowed to recast their
vote. The tweet has been
removed but was reported
on by BuzzFeed. Archived
on September 6 2019.16
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I N F O R M AT I O N D I S O R D E R
CHAPTER 5
Imposter
content
When genuine
sources are
impersonated.
33