Live Updates: Snopes Coverage of the Aftermath of the 2020 U.S. Election, 11/04/2020

As states counted ballots on Nov. 4, misinformation spread rapidly online. Here are facts.

  • Published 4 November 2020
Image via Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Voting in the 2020 U.S. Election may be over, but the misinformation keeps on ticking. Never stop fact-checking. Follow our post-election coverage here.

This liveblog is complete — but our job’s not done. Read the liveblog for Nov. 5.

Jump to see each claim:

Claims from Nov. 5 | Moving Truck at White House? | Detroit Voter Fraud? | National Stress Awareness Day | Trump Warned Against Recounts in 2012 | AP Reports Biden Wins Michigan | 40k Georgia Ballots Rejected? | Trump’s ‘Major Fraud’ Speech, Fact-Checked | Trump Wins Pennsylvania? | Biden Beats Obama’s Vote Record? | What Would a Presidential Transition Look Like? | No, Biden Did Not ‘Admit’ Voter Fraud | Biden Wins Wisconsin | Ballots Marked With Sharpies Disqualified? | More Votes Than Wisconsin Registered Voters? | Did Biden Receive 100% of New Votes in Michigan? | Stalin: ‘It’s Not the Vote of People Who Count…’ | Aria DiMezzo Loses | Trump Falsely Claims Victory With Millions of Votes Uncounted | Background and Previous Claims | Claims from Election Day

The voting is done — now all that’s left to do is count.

As the internet’s premier fact-checking site, We’ve been gauging the truth behind the candidates’ claims since the beginning of the race (see a collection of fact checks involving Trump here and Biden here), as well as rumors about the voting process and what Americans can expect in this historic election. And on Election Day itself, we checked misinformation as it was happening.

Now, we’ve got new fact checks to combat misinformation about the election’s results. We introduced “rumor alerts” to warn readers where they should tread lightly. We’ll use those posts to send up a flare about rumors/misinformation for which we may not have enough information for a complete fact check with a truth rating, but that we want to warn audiences about anyway.

The election process extends days, if not weeks, after Americans cast votes on election night. Even during typical cycles when a pandemic isn’t limiting in-person polling and likely to cause a surge in mail-in voting — a method of ballot-casting that can take officials longer to tally — states are unable to count all ballots and legally certify results in one night.

Nonetheless, news reporters often “call” races on election night based on votes counted shortly after polls close. Those media reports are projections, not legally sanctioned results — and as of the morning of Nov. 4, the results in several states remain unclear.

Snopes’ team of reporters and editors will monitor those reports closely since they could erroneously bolster beliefs that one candidate has won and delegitimize the official vote-counting process after election night. Already, the Trump campaign is trying to weaken Americans’ trust in the process by repeating unsubstantiated claims of criminal activity — when, in reality, cases of voter fraud are minuscule in comparison to the number of ballots cast in U.S. elections.

Additionally, if election night results lean in Biden’s favor, new problems could arise. Trump has repeatedly declined to commit to accepting the results of the election if he loses, which could result in an unprecedented constitutional crisis.

Make sense of what you’re hearing and seeing after the election with Snopes’ live fact checking below.

Refresh this page for updates.

Moving Truck at White House?

11:00pm ET/8:00pm PT


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Detroit Voter Fraud?

10:40pm ET/7:40pm PT


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National Stress Awareness Day

7:47pm ET/4:47pm PT


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Trump Warned Against Recounts in 2012

6:27pm ET/3:27pm PT


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AP Reports Biden Wins Michigan

6:15pm ET/3:15pm PT


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40k Georgia Ballots Rejected?

5:34pm ET/2:34pm PT


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Trump’s ‘Major Fraud’ Speech, Fact-Checked

5:21pm ET/2:21pm PT


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RUMOR ALERT: Trump Declared Winner in Pennsylvania?

4:56pm ET/1:56pm PT


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Biden Beats Obama’s Vote Record?

4:46pm ET/1:46pm PT


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What Would a Presidential Transition Look Like?

4:37pm ET/1:37pm PT


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No, Biden Did Not ‘Admit’ Voter Fraud

3:46pm ET/12:46pm PT


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Biden Won Wisconsin

3:10pm ET/12:10pm PT


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Were Trump Ballots Marked with Sharpies Disqualified in Arizona?

2:39pm ET/11:39am PT


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Did Biden Receive 100% of 128,000 New Votes in Michigan?

2:17pm ET/11:17am PT


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More Votes Than Wisconsin Registered Voters?

12:14pm ET/9:14am PT


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Stalin: ‘It’s Not the Vote of People Who Count…’

11:53am ET/8:53am PT


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Aria DiMezzo Loses

11:20am ET/8:20am PT


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Trump Falsely Claims Victory With Millions of Votes Uncounted

10:09am ET/7:09am PT


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Background and Previous Claims

8:16am ET/5:16am PT


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