Before sharing an election claim, check who created it, verify any voting procedure with your state or local election office, and look for independent corroboration. If you still cannot confirm it, do not pass it along as fact. An unverified claim is not necessarily false—but spreading it before it is checked can mislead others.
Start by pausing and identifying the claim
Do not repost, forward, or quote an election message as true while you are checking it. The FBI warns that misleading claims can concern when, where, and how to vote, so even a short message about a deadline or polling-place change deserves verification.
Turn the post into one specific question you can check: Is a polling place changing? Is a stated registration deadline correct? Did an election system have an outage? Is there evidence for an alleged results discrepancy? A precise claim is easier to verify than a broad caption such as “the election is rigged.”
Trace the information to its source
Look for the earliest available version, not just the account or friend who forwarded it. Check the publisher, author or account, publication date, location, and original link. If a post says it quotes an official notice, open the notice and confirm that it actually says what the post claims.
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Ask: “Can I trust this information?”—a prompt the FBI uses in its Election Crimes and Security guidance. Consider who produced the material and what it appears to want readers to do. Does the source have authority for the place and issue involved? Does it link to primary evidence? Does it correct errors transparently? These are practical checks, not a score that can prove a claim true.
Verify voting rules with the right election office
For registration status, deadlines, polling locations, hours, identification requirements, voting methods, and official results, consult the election office responsible for your jurisdiction. In the United States, elections are administered by states and local jurisdictions; rules and procedures can differ even between nearby communities. Federal guidance points voters to state and local officials, as well as the U.S. Election Assistance Commission and USA.gov for voter information.
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If a message seems suspicious, do not rely on the link it provides. Navigate independently to the state or local election office’s website, or use a contact method listed there. Confirm the same jurisdiction and election: an accurate notice from another county, state, or election year may not apply to you. Check close to the election because dates, locations, and procedures can change.
Look for independent corroboration
For claims about election-system problems, ballot handling, or results discrepancies, look for confirmation from an official election authority and credible reporting that independently supports the specific claim. Several posts repeating the same unsourced statement are not independent confirmation.
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FBI and CISA guidance says to consider not sharing a claim when its source is not credible or a second reliable source cannot be found. Their October 6, 2022 public-service announcement puts it this way: “If the information is not from a credible source or if a second reliable source cannot be found, consider not sharing it as you may be inadvertently amplifying misinformation.” A lack of corroboration is a reason to wait; by itself, it does not prove the claim false.
Do not treat format or AI detection as proof
A screenshot, official-looking logo, urgent wording, or dramatic video does not establish authenticity. Claims can circulate through social networks, texts, email, messaging apps, spoofed websites, and inauthentic media. Check the underlying source and evidence rather than judging only by how polished—or suspicious—the content looks.
AI-generated content adds another reason to verify carefully, but an AI detector result is not a standalone truth test. The EAC’s guidance on combatting AI-generated mis- and disinformation is a resource for election officials; for a particular claim, source verification and official confirmation still matter more than a detector label.
Historical examples should not be mistaken for evidence of a current operation. A joint ODNI, FBI, and CISA statement dated November 4, 2024 described manufactured videos and articles connected with that election and advised voters to seek trusted official information, especially from state and local election officials. That statement documents what agencies reported then, not what is happening now.
What to do when you cannot confirm a claim
- Do not forward or present it as fact. If you discuss it, clearly say that it remains unverified and avoid repeating details in a way that could spread them further.
- Use the platform’s reporting tools if the post appears deceptive or violates its rules.
- For suspected voter suppression or other election crime, consult the current FBI Election Crimes and Security page for reporting routes. FBI guidance says suspected voter-suppression messages may be reported through IC3; use the current official instructions to choose the appropriate channel.
Keep claims about voter-data exposure in context, too. In an October 6, 2022 announcement, the FBI and CISA said voter-registration information may be publicly available and that, at that time, they had no information indicating the described cyber activity affected ballot integrity. That dated statement is not a current assessment of any later incident, and exposure of voter data alone does not establish that voting or vote counting was compromised.
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