Trump Campaign Didn’t Put Secret Watermarks on Ballots
The Claim
Trump’s campaign put watermarks on ballots to trick Democrats trying to commit election fraud.
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Following Election Day, many users on social media shared the claim, saying that it is part of the fight against election fraud.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar’s investigation found that the claim is incorrect. While watermarks do appear on some states’ ballots, there is no evidence of any kind of secret watermark that would catch those committing election fraud.
The claim is part of the QAnon conspiracy theory web, which we have previously debunked.
If Trump’s campaign did have a way to secretly catch Democrats committing election fraud, then they would seemingly be able to prove it. Instead, the campaign has made baseless allegations about voter and election fraud with no proof.
Finally, the Department of Homeland Security does not make ballots, as stated in the viral claim. Ballots are produced by local governments.