Kanye West Flagged By Twitter For Posting Fake Election Results That Show Him Beating Trump and Biden in Kentucky

Andrew ShusterOct 14th, 2020, 11:47 am
 
Kanye West Fake Results

Roy Rochlin/Getty Images

On Tuesday night, Kanye West tweeted fake presidential election results that falsely showed him beating both President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden in Kentucky. The invalid results were later flagged by Twitter as “manipulated media.”

West shared a screenshot of incorrect results attributed to the NBC affiliate Lex 18 News, based in Lexington, Kentucky. The outcome showed Libertarian Party candidate Jo Jorgensen in first place with 36 percent of the vote, followed by independent candidate Brock Pierce in second with 29 percent, and West in third with 19 percent. Fourth and fifth place went to Biden and Trump with 14 percent and 2 percent of the vote, respectively.

Here’s one problem: early votes in Kentucky aren’t counted until election day on November 3. Lex18 News later explained the gaffe on Twitter by noting that the “results shown were not valid” and “were simply part of a test.”

The NBC affiliate explained, “Someone discovered a cached web link that we used during June’s primary election to post Associated Press election results. The old link was still populating current AP data and showed test results, which is part of the preparation the AP does in advance of elections… We regret the discovery of the cached web link and have removed the data from that page. We apologize for any confusion.”

Lex18 reporter Nancy Cox also tweeted a clarification, saying that West is “not leading the race for President in KY” and the fake results he posted were “test numbers” sent out “to make sure systems are working.” Cox continued, “It’s an automated thing that is posting election results on our website. Sorry viewers. Sorry Kanye.”

West either didn’t get the memo or chose to ignore it. Following the clarification from Lex18, the rapper shared a video of himself celebrating the incorrect election results. “GET THE WEST WING READY !!! … this is how I felt when I saw that Kentucky pole [sic] result,” he tweeted. West’s celebratory tweet and his accompanying video were also flagged as “manipulated media.”

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