Matt BlazeYikes, the latest iteration of “the 2024 election was stolen” conspiracy crap is an order of magnitude more bonkers than the last. And, unsurprisingly, echos almost perfectly the bonkers stuff from 2020, with the parties reversed.
Just stop.
I’m not going to repeat or link to this nonsense, but no, you can’t flip votes by satellite via compromised power strips in any actual election system used in the US (or elsewhere on our planet, as far as I know).
If you repeat this stuff, you are a bad person. You’re either choosing not to use your brain’s most basic critical thinking functions, or you’re deliberately spreading disinformation. I think less of you either way. Stop it.
You may or may not remember that “they used satellites to flip the votes” was one of the laughably ridiculous claims after 2020. It’s still laughably ridiculous for 2024.
Come on, at least make up some original bullshit here.
“But they COULD have stolen the election this way!!”
No. This is not how these systems work.
But even if they DID work that that way (and they most assuredly don’t), the fact that something COULD HAVE happened is not evidence that it actually DID happen*.
* Many Universes theories notwithstanding.
“But Trump (and/or Musk) CONFESSED to stealing the election!!”
Again, no.
But even if they did, whether by talking shit in a speech or in a written confession to the DA, someone admitting to something is not proof that it happened.
I killed Laura Palmer, by the way.
An important clue (aside from basic common sense and logic) that these nutso claims about 2024 don't deserve your attention is who *isn't* repeating them: The candidate from whom the election was supposedly stolen.
If there were convincing evidence that Harris had the election stolen from her, she'd be *all over* it. But nope.
Do you think they got to her, too?
“But Harris can’t be trusted to defend her own election!”
Right, that critically important safeguard apparently falls to some random dude with a substack blog.
Ben Rosengart@mattblaze I agree with you on the substance, but I think this is a weak argument. Al Gore accepted the theft of Florida and the election in 2000, and if he hadn't, I'm not sure the party would have had his back. Democrats can't be counted on to stand up for themselves.
@fivetonsflax No. He LITERALLY TOOK HIS CASE TO THE SUPREME COURT.
He didn't ignore anything. He made a public decision not to pursue it at that point.
@mattblaze I remember it well. The Supreme Court gave the election to Bush on questionable grounds, and Gore accepted it on the basis that further contestation would rend the social fabric.
I don't think it's controversial to say that senior Dems have, for decades, shown a preference for losing gracefully over being perceived as divisive or irresponsible.
I don't think voting was compromised. I just don't think "the Democrats accepted their loss" is evidence of much at all. That's just what Democrats do, most of the time.
Ciggy Bringer of SmokeThat was my thinking on the last point too - they would be the last to admit being lit on fire and we can surely put this fire out in 2-4 years anyway with the proper amount of money and votes.
Also, there's a fair argument that Gore trying to preserve the integrity of The State and the social fabric was for nothing at all given every missed saving throw up until this point. Oh boy, what a placid 2 and a half decades we've had thanks to Gore, amirite?
(if you told me that Democrats would have missed nearly every saving throw at a crucial inflection and wasted their hand when they made the saving throw, I wouldn't believe you until the last 2 years of Obama's term, that's where I was at during that time. But they did.)
JamesWNeal@mattblaze I imagine the glue that ties all "stolen election" conspiracies together is a hard core belief that there's no way in hell the chosen one could lose because everybody knew they were the chosen one. Once you buy into that, you've no choice but to grab onto any *other* explanation that blames the person who won.
Maier Amsden@mattblaze We just expect Democrats to reflexively precompromise, preconcede and self-defeat at the slightest hint of pressure.
BlueDot🇺🇦We won the Wisconsin Supreme Court election in 2025, despite Elon Musk putting a whole lot of cash into the race.
I'm going to need a believable story of how Republicans could steal the Presidential election in 2024, win, and then lose Wisconsin, before I'm going to take any of these 2024 conspiracy theories seriously.
Jeff Shaffer CBET, ret@BlueDot
Does this link work for you?
The link works. The linked article does nothing to answer the question that I posed.
@BlueDot
It may be that my skill set at this is at fault, and I sent you part two of an article that my son sent me. I abhor conspiracy theories as a rule, but this paragraph linked as part one in the link I sent you really bothered me:
On Monday, an investigator’s story finally hit the news cycle: Pro V&V, one of only two federally accredited testing labs, approved sweeping last-minute updates to ES&S voting machines in the months leading up to the 2024 election—without independent testing, public disclosure, or full certification review.
These changes were labeled “de minimis”—a term meant for trivial tweaks. But they touched ballot scanners, altered reporting software, and modified audit files—yet were all rubber-stamped with no oversight.
That revelation is a shock to the public.
———
This information was new to me. But my sophistication in technology is suspect, do you see a problem here or can I mark this up to paranoia?
@CivilityFan @BlueDot Suggestion: Rather than reposting any old bullshit you read on the Internet, just don't.
Lady Errant@mattblaze Its not funny but I got a chuckle that you are having to argue with someone who's handle is "CivilityFan"
@mattblaze
Perhaps you’re right, if a bit unkind, but as I said, I’m unsophisticated in the realm of technology and these claims appear worrisome. I was hoping for a direct refutation of the facts presented, something I could use to refute the claim and you seemed like a reliable source
@BlueDot
Perhaps you’re right, if a bit unkind, but as I said, I’m unsophisticated in the realm of technology and these claims appear worrisome. I was hoping for a direct refutation of the facts presented, something I could use to refute the claim and you seemed like a reliable source
@BlueDot
@CivilityFan @BlueDot I DON'T CARE IF YOU FIND ME UNKIND. STOP REPEATING BULLSHIT.
Falcon Darkstar@CivilityFan @mattblaze @BlueDot it's difficult to refute specifically without being able to actually go through the evidence, like any good conspiracy theory. This is precisely why things like transparency and risk-limiting audits are so incredibly important - not half so much to actually protect integrity as to give people confidence in the results and quell nonsense conspiracy theories.
Quinn Norton@CivilityFan @mattblaze @BlueDot here's the thing, Matt is very good at studying and understanding these systems and the context they're in. He has published, working with many people to identify the problems in voting systems. He really knows his stuff. But because his stuff is political, countless people who just became interested in voting systems 1 election ago. They want their viewpoint validated because the vibes aren't vibing for them,
@CivilityFan @mattblaze @BlueDot but vibes are vibes and they don't change the fact that The US has pretty reliable voting infrastructure. Vibing at the guy who has done the work, and then rejecting the work, and being in a crowd of people doing the same, that's just exhausting. Trump won because that's who the majority of voters wanted. That's the problem to work on.
@quinn
Actually I just wanted some info to refute the article, my son is a conspiracy theorist and sent this to me and my wife, who got pretty upset. I didn’t mean to stir up a hornets nest, my apologies. In any event, it’s a fait accompli and no recourse available
@CivilityFan honesty you don't talk conspiracy theorists out of it with more facts, because that's not what's going on. The conspiracy is someone trying to meet their own needs, comfort and empower themselves. If you look at the need they're trying to meet, it can be much more useful than focusing on how they are trying to frame it.
Jackaninny@quinn @CivilityFan THIS! THIS! and THIS!
Kit Malone@CivilityFan @BlueDot @mattblaze this linked article is such textbook vague, handwaving, hair-on-fire conspiratorial nonsense that it wouldn't look out of place in an Infowars piece in 2020. I have half a mind to report it as spreading purposeful disinformation. How anyone can take this writing seriously is beyond me.
@CivilityFan @BlueDot @mattblaze people will really just get into some really wild twists to avoid having to admit to themselves that the US really is exactly racist enough to elect someone like Donald Trump.
Dan McDonald@mattblaze I thought you were Keyser Söze?
Tim Chaseyou've achieved Peak humor…
Norman Wilson@gumnos @mattblaze No peaking. Sorry, I mean no piquing. Sorry, I mean.
Zack@mattblaze
*I* killed Laura Palmer.
Proof.
Michael ☕️@mattblaze
I shot J. R. Ewing.
I have a bumper sticker that proves it, too.
spv@mattblaze i killed jeffery epstein
James 🦉 #FBPE 🇪🇺@mattblaze Fair enough, but two things bug me. One is just because sore loser Trump whined the last one was stolen doesn't mean this one wasn't. And two, Trump admitted it. A number of times. Some claim Musk admitted it too, but I think he meant Trump wouldn't have one without his funding, rather than any hacking. I don't know anything about voting systems, it's probably bollocks like you say, but there are differences, one being *a confession*
@freequaybuoy Stop. You are embarrassing yourself.
@mattblaze I'll decide that. So Trump didn't admit it?
https://youtu.be/TTHonqrM7Vc?si=4Rb192nd3-yimeA5
https://youtu.be/TTHonqrM7Vc?si=4Rb192nd3-yimeA5
Trump admits "They Rigged the Election" (twice)
Jay@freequaybuoy @mattblaze Trump’s relationship with the truth is not the same as you or me because he is a narcissist.
He doesn’t think in terms of truth or lies, he thinks in terms of what makes him appear stronger or better or prevents him from suffering the worst of all human atrocities: embarrassment.
To that end, he “admits” and denies in equal measure from sunup to sundown, depending on what helps him in that conversation, that sentence, that moment.
cd ~@freequaybuoy @mattblaze NO!! Not in this clip. He claims that will be the president in 2026 because he didn't win in 2020. Complex math, is it? Also, if anything, this shows that he still thinks a presidency lasts two terms.
@cd_home @mattblaze And here? It's a link to Twitter so you should feel right at home
https://x.com/YourAnonCentral/status/1881127785609269471?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1881127785609269471%7Ctwgr%5E7d229fc0be8f9c2e7cc62e58e57ddfdeeee3dbad%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indy100.com%2Fpolitics%2Ftrump%2Fdonald-trump-elon-musk-rigged-election-conspiracy
https://x.com/YourAnonCentral/status/1881127785609269471?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1881127785609269471%7Ctwgr%5E7d229fc0be8f9c2e7cc62e58e57ddfdeeee3dbad%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indy100.com%2Fpolitics%2Ftrump%2Fdonald-trump-elon-musk-rigged-election-conspiracy
@freequaybuoy Trump isnt exactly a reliable narrator.
Soatok Dreamseeker@mattblaze I've been trying to be the voice of reason where I see this sort of nonsense
G@mattblaze oh. i love a bad conspiracy theory and never heard of the satellites in 2020. Wikipedia also has nothing... sigh there goes my evening.
Shark Attak@mattblaze
But if you deny this stuff, YOU are the bad person.
You are the one depriving people of one of the last alternatives to the fact that millions of people have willingly voted for Trump. Again.
But if you deny this stuff, YOU are the bad person.
You are the one depriving people of one of the last alternatives to the fact that millions of people have willingly voted for Trump. Again.
ThatGuySpike@mattblaze A reflection of just how off-kilter the collective consciousness has become! People relying on black boxes for answers without asking what's in the black box.
Guillaume Ross@mattblaze Not with THAT attitude!!
The Sneak@mattblaze
what in the actual
you can't, it doesn't, I mean there isn't...
... that's not how any of this works!
... I don't even ...
😵💫
what in the actual
you can't, it doesn't, I mean there isn't...
... that's not how any of this works!
... I don't even ...
😵💫
@mattblaze *inserts history guy alien meme: "vote changing space lasers!"
c'mon it's pretty good as conspiracies theories go. I'd give it an 11.
c'mon it's pretty good as conspiracies theories go. I'd give it an 11.
Kevin LaRose,aka Grumpasaurus@mattblaze @renewedresistance The desire to buy into these theories can be so seductive. It would mean that what happened didn’t really happened, and what’s going on now is all due to a nefarious plot that somehow came to fruition. There would be so many constantly moving parts that would have to come together exactly right to make this actually true. And my observation is that not even Musk and his minions could do it. So, no, I’m not buying into it all, tempting as it might be.
Andrew C. Dingman@mattblaze It's terrifying that any appreciable number of Americans engage with the world around them at such a low level of comprehension as to find this believable.
John Kristoff@mattblaze I was trying to remember where I saw this, I remember thinking it odd to be in my timeline. It was posted into a sub-reddit I was following.
It looks like it was removed from the source, but the Mastodon bot I was following still has it. Past tense, was following.
Unfortunately the bot has over 1.3k followers so it probably got seen by many around here.
S.P.Zeidler@mattblaze why posit space lasers when gerrymandering and voter suppression will do the job, right? But that's probably not novel enough.
Germany doesn't have fptp voting so the incentives aren't quite that strong, but the Aussie "every eligible voter must vote" idea looks better by the day.
vandorb12@mattblaze I got the pleasure and opportunity to view some of the torn down voting machines at the defcon voting village. The machines there were simple, but robust. The volunteers there also described many of the security controls they gave in place at the ballot counting places.
My experience is inconsequential to the whackos out there, but I have very high confidence in the American voting tally system, and knowing that I can infrequently audit that myself by visiting defcon is priceless.
My experience is inconsequential to the whackos out there, but I have very high confidence in the American voting tally system, and knowing that I can infrequently audit that myself by visiting defcon is priceless.
Fabrice Roux 
@mattblaze in this reboot who plays the roles of the pillow guy and the used oil leaking attorney ?
@fabrice the main difference is that this version lacks the larger-than-life spokesmodels. It’s mostly just the Internet doing its thing.
Phil Stevens 
@mattblaze There are some things we do know. Most relevant are all the structural methods of voter suppression that the GOP has deployed since forever.
Demian@mattblaze Yikes! apparently I'm in a bit of a bubble and don't see this stuff much.
Is it misguided? Grifters? Other?
Is it misguided? Grifters? Other?
Daniel Molkentin@mattblaze Thanks, it confirms that I did good in ignoring all the reports about "bomb shell reports". The word became a red flag even for liberal media when CNBC talking heads and show hosts overdosed on it.