“Trump has won the election with 294 electoral votes.”
Stand up for the facts!
Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy.
We need your help.
I would like to contribute
Chester County, Pa. election workers process mail-in and absentee ballots for the 2020 general election in the United States at West Chester University, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2020, in West Chester, Pa. (AP)
No, Trump hasn’t won the election (and neither has Biden)
If Your Time is short
- According to several news organizations, President Donald Trump had 213 electoral votes by 11:30 a.m. Eastern Time on Nov. 4.
- Though he has falsely declared victory, millions of votes in crucial states are still uncounted, and the election is undecided.
Millions of votes are still uncounted in the presidential election but some of President Donald Trump’s supporters have already claimed victory.
"Democrats saw that they had lost the election, and the calls went out to the corporate media to lock down their state calls," read one Facebook post. "Georgia, North Carolina, Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania were all just about out of reach, and they needed to create the narrative that Trump hadn’t won them when he clearly had."
In all those states but Georgia, the post said, Democratic governors and the media intervened to steal the election and deny Trump victory.
"Trump has won this election with 294 electoral votes," the post continued. "They’re refusing to acknowledge it."
This post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)
Trump hasn’t won the election — no one has yet — and he doesn't have 294 electoral votes. Either he or Biden need at least 270 electoral votes to win.
According to the Associated Press, and Fox News, as of about 11:30 a.m. Eastern Time on Nov. 4, Biden had 238 electoral votes and Trump had 213.
Different news organizations showed similar results at that time; they aren’t all identical because these are preliminary results as votes continue to be counted even in states where the Associated Press has declared a winner. While the Associated Press and Fox have called Arizona for Biden, for example, other organizations have not declared a winner in that race.
Featured Fact-check
According to the New York Times, which relies on "a number of factors before declaring a winner, including race calls made by The Associated Press and Edison Research," Biden had 227 electoral votes and Trump had 213.
ABC News also had Biden with 227 electoral votes and Trump with 213.
And The Washington Post had 224 electoral votes for Biden and 213 for Trump.
In all of these accountings, Trump had fewer than 270 electoral votes — and not 294.
Trump could still win. And on Wednesday he sounded sure that he would win in Georgia, North Carolina, Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania — the states mentioned in the Facebook post.
All of those states have a significant percentage of ballots left to count, the New York Times reported. And when we’ll know full results will likely vary from state to state.
Trump has already falsely declared victory. Biden, meanwhile, said early Nov. 4 that his campaign believes "we’re on track to win this election."
We’ll see. But this Facebook post is False.
This fact check is available at IFCN’s 2020 US Elections #Chatbot on WhatsApp. Click here, for more.
Our Sources
Facebook post, Nov. 4, 2020
The Washington Post, Where votes are still being counted, Nov. 4, 2020
The New York Times, How election results really work, April 4, 2016
ABC News, Election 202 results, visited Nov. 4, 2020
The New York Times, Presidential election results, visited Nov. 4, 2020
The Washington Post, Campaigns offer dueling takes on what will happen when counting stops, visited Nov. 4, 2020
Fox News, Election 2020: live coverage, visited Nov. 4, 2020
The Associated Press 2020 election results, visited Nov. 4, 2020
The New York Times, Can Biden still win? Can Trump still win? Yes. Here are the remaining paths, Nov. 4, 2020
PolitiFact, Trump falsely and prematurely claims 2020 presidential victory, Nov. 4, 2020
Browse the Truth-O-Meter
More by Ciara O'Rourke
No, Trump hasn’t won the election (and neither has Biden)
Support independent fact-checking.
Become a member!
In a world of wild talk and fake news, help us stand up for the facts.