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| A Dubious Vote-Fraud Claim Gets the Trump Seal of Approval | A Dubious Vote-Fraud Claim Gets the Trump Seal of Approval |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| WASHINGTON — President Trump used Twitter on Friday to give a shout-out to a man whose claim to have proved that millions of people voted fraudulently has been repeatedly debunked. | WASHINGTON — President Trump used Twitter on Friday to give a shout-out to a man whose claim to have proved that millions of people voted fraudulently has been repeatedly debunked. |
| In the Twitter message, the president said he looked forward to the results of a voting analysis promised by Gregg Phillips, who last year claimed to have access to data that proved that three million votes had been cast illegally in the election. | In the Twitter message, the president said he looked forward to the results of a voting analysis promised by Gregg Phillips, who last year claimed to have access to data that proved that three million votes had been cast illegally in the election. |
| Fact-checkers noted that Mr. Phillips had offered no evidence to back up his claims, which were fiercely disputed by state election officials in both parties and by nonpartisan election analysts. | |
| Less than a week after the election in November, conspiracy theory websites started reporting that millions of people had voted illegally, with many of the stories pointing to a tweet from Mr. Phillips claiming that he had proved it. | Less than a week after the election in November, conspiracy theory websites started reporting that millions of people had voted illegally, with many of the stories pointing to a tweet from Mr. Phillips claiming that he had proved it. |
| The tweet, and stories citing it as proof, appeared on numerous right-wing websites such as Infowars.com under headlines suggesting that the popular vote lead of Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee, had been bolstered by millions of illegal votes. | The tweet, and stories citing it as proof, appeared on numerous right-wing websites such as Infowars.com under headlines suggesting that the popular vote lead of Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee, had been bolstered by millions of illegal votes. |
| In subsequent Twitter messages, Mr. Phillips promised “legal action” and said he was consulting lawyers. He also refused to release to reporters data that he claimed formed the basis for his assertion, saying the media would “spin” the story against him. | In subsequent Twitter messages, Mr. Phillips promised “legal action” and said he was consulting lawyers. He also refused to release to reporters data that he claimed formed the basis for his assertion, saying the media would “spin” the story against him. |
| Several fact-check organizations looked into Mr. Phillips’s claims and concluded that there was no evidence to back them up. | Several fact-check organizations looked into Mr. Phillips’s claims and concluded that there was no evidence to back them up. |
| Snopes.com, a site that calls itself the “definitive internet reference source for urban legends, folklore, myths, rumors, and misinformation,” labeled the claims by Mr. Phillips and several partisan news sites as “unproven.” | Snopes.com, a site that calls itself the “definitive internet reference source for urban legends, folklore, myths, rumors, and misinformation,” labeled the claims by Mr. Phillips and several partisan news sites as “unproven.” |
| “We scoured at least a dozen such articles for evidence to support the claim, but found none,” the site wrote. | “We scoured at least a dozen such articles for evidence to support the claim, but found none,” the site wrote. |
| “Phillips offers no evidence whatsoever to back up the claim that he ‘verified’ more than three million noncitizen votes,” Snopes.com adds. “Nor does he divulge his data sources or methodology, much less explain how it was possible to ‘verify’ three million fraudulent votes within five days of a national election.” | “Phillips offers no evidence whatsoever to back up the claim that he ‘verified’ more than three million noncitizen votes,” Snopes.com adds. “Nor does he divulge his data sources or methodology, much less explain how it was possible to ‘verify’ three million fraudulent votes within five days of a national election.” |
| Glenn Kessler, the fact-checker at the Washington Post, called the voter fraud assertion “a bogus claim with no documented proof.” Punditfact said in its analysis that “skeptical, independent experts and historical analyses suggest it’s highly suspect. In other words, don’t buy it.” | Glenn Kessler, the fact-checker at the Washington Post, called the voter fraud assertion “a bogus claim with no documented proof.” Punditfact said in its analysis that “skeptical, independent experts and historical analyses suggest it’s highly suspect. In other words, don’t buy it.” |
| So who is Gregg Phillips? According to his LinkedIn profile page, he is the founder of a company called AutoGov, which he describes as “a big data health care software company focused on eligibility, enrollment and data verification.” | So who is Gregg Phillips? According to his LinkedIn profile page, he is the founder of a company called AutoGov, which he describes as “a big data health care software company focused on eligibility, enrollment and data verification.” |
| He also lists himself as having been the executive director of the Mississippi Republican Party for about 18 months in the mid-1990s and the finance director for the Alabama Republican Party before that. | He also lists himself as having been the executive director of the Mississippi Republican Party for about 18 months in the mid-1990s and the finance director for the Alabama Republican Party before that. |
| His profile on Twitter says he created a mobile phone app called VoteStand to allow people to easily report instances of what they think is voter fraud. A screenshot on the iTunes app store shows someone using the app to complain that sample ballots were not mailed in the person’s district. | His profile on Twitter says he created a mobile phone app called VoteStand to allow people to easily report instances of what they think is voter fraud. A screenshot on the iTunes app store shows someone using the app to complain that sample ballots were not mailed in the person’s district. |
| Early stories about Mr. Phillips on the conspiracy-theory websites suggested that he was connected to a group called Votefraud.org and its website, ElectionNightGatekeepers.com, which frequently expresses concern about what it calls the “danger of computerized election fraud.” | Early stories about Mr. Phillips on the conspiracy-theory websites suggested that he was connected to a group called Votefraud.org and its website, ElectionNightGatekeepers.com, which frequently expresses concern about what it calls the “danger of computerized election fraud.” |
| But a prominent note on the site’s front page says it had “never heard of Gregg Phillips” before those stories linked to their site. | But a prominent note on the site’s front page says it had “never heard of Gregg Phillips” before those stories linked to their site. |
| “We would urge Mr. Gregg Phillips to publish how his group made this determination (and we hope he can!)” the site wrote. | “We would urge Mr. Gregg Phillips to publish how his group made this determination (and we hope he can!)” the site wrote. |
| Mr. Phillips spoke to CNN’s Chris Cuomo to talk about his work. | Mr. Phillips spoke to CNN’s Chris Cuomo to talk about his work. |
| The president’s Twitter message on Friday was apparently not the first time Mr. Phillips had influenced Mr. Trump’s views about fraudulent voting in the 2016 presidential election. | The president’s Twitter message on Friday was apparently not the first time Mr. Phillips had influenced Mr. Trump’s views about fraudulent voting in the 2016 presidential election. |
| Mr. Trump’s first tweets about illegal voting came in late November, around the same time that Jill Stein, the Green Party candidate for president, sought recounts in several states. | Mr. Trump’s first tweets about illegal voting came in late November, around the same time that Jill Stein, the Green Party candidate for president, sought recounts in several states. |
| Mr. Trump lashed out, saying he would have won the popular vote if it had not been for millions of people who voted illegally. | Mr. Trump lashed out, saying he would have won the popular vote if it had not been for millions of people who voted illegally. |
| He never mentioned Mr. Phillips at the time, but it seems clear that he was reacting to the stories generated by the original tweet from Mr. Phillips just days after the presidential election — a tweet that made totally unsubstantiated claims. | He never mentioned Mr. Phillips at the time, but it seems clear that he was reacting to the stories generated by the original tweet from Mr. Phillips just days after the presidential election — a tweet that made totally unsubstantiated claims. |