Similar claims have already been debunked by Reuters (here). It is no longer federally certified. Secretary Hargett is the chief executive officer of the Department of State with oversight of more than 300 employees. . Once a hacker starts talking to the voting machine through the modem, the hacker cannot just change these unofficial election results, they can hack the software in the voting machine and make it cheat in future elections, he said. While the post does not specify which building they believed the machines were held in, a Dominion Voting Systems spokesperson said by email that none of their machines were anywhere in the. He was present when the bomb went off, and he perished in the bombing," Cochran said. The explosion disrupted AT&T wireless and internet services, leading to widespread 911 issues in the Nashville area, The Tennessean reported. The machines America votes on seem to be capturing the interest of some in Congress. The row housed Simply the Best $10 Boutique at 176 (here), Ensemble boutique at 174 (www.ensemblenashville.com/) and the Pride & Glory Tattoo Parlor at 172 (www.prideandglorytattoo.com/), as well as apartments on the upper floors (here). A public relations firmtold the Associated Presson behalf of Dominion that the company "has no connection to AT&T, the building, Nashville, family members of the Bidens or the Clintons, and Staple Street is not owned by Cerberus. Hismotive is unknown. The AT&T buildingon Second Avenueis owned by BellSouth Telecommunications, an operating company of AT&T, according to local records. After that podcast went out, the threats quickly arrived. Skoglund said that they identified only one company among the systems they detected on line, ES&S. First, QAnon. The 35 systems Skoglunds team found represent a fraction of total voting systems nationwide, though he believes they only captured a portion of the systems that are or have been online. A spokesperson for Dominion Voting Systems told Reuters via email: Dominion calls on the media and the public to reject the baseless rumors circulating on social media, which suggest without evidence that there was some election-related connection to the Nashville explosion.. 1995 - 2023 by Snopes Media Group Inc. Did City Blue Imaging Print Voting Ballots, Then Burn Down? There are currently two voting systems which are certified by the State of Florida's Division of Elections. Thats an interesting coincidence., Some posts read: So, the explosion just happened to be at the AT&T location where they just so happen to control the cooling system for the super computer and house the dominion voting machines and drives for forensic audit. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. Dominion was the first to snap. Owners of Dominion Voting Systems,(the company many people are accusing of voter fraud) are former executives from Cerebus," another post reads. The wishes are that I forever have to look over my shoulder," Coomer said. In the wake of the Christmas morning explosion in Nashville, Tenn., a baseless conspiracy theory started circulating online that claims Nashville's downtown AT&T complex, which was damaged in. Recently, however, there are signs that elections companies, like some election officials, are pushing back against the false accusations. EDITORS NOTE (Feb. 7, 2020, 11:15 p.m.): A previous version of this article stated that Kevin Skoglund and his team had found election systems using ES&S scanners with wireless modems connected to the internet in 11 states and the District of Columbia. The question is.. But that is an overstatement, according to a team of 10 independent cybersecurity experts who specialize in voting systems and elections. Both companies have denied the posts claims, saying that there was no such audit and that Dominions machines were not recently transported to Nashville. AT&T got a contract to do forensic audit on Dominion voting machines and those machines were being moved to Nashville this past week, read one post. Much of the voting equipment was by Dominion. We can not make our computers perfectly secure," he said. It really is. Statement:The Nashville bombing was an attempt to stop an AT&T audit into Dominion software and cover up election corruption. The company put the building back on the market shortly thereafter; MetLife Inc., throughsubsidiary Prefco Fourteen, now owns the building, public records show. Other posts on social media have gone a step further, alleging that Dominion is tied to the bombing through ownership of the affected AT&T building. A sample ballot is shown via the Dominion Voting Systems that Georgians use to vote. Dominion Voting Systems, a company beset by dubious election fraud claims in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election, said "human error" was to blame after machines in a Pennsylvania. The City of Rochester government and police did not immediately respond to Reuters request for comment. Law enforcement authorities have suggested that Warner may have been paranoid about 5G technology, a QAnon-related conspiracy theory that makes an array of unproven claims including that ithelps spread COVID-19and is used as a spying tool by the government. All rights reserved. A sample ballot is shown via the Dominion Voting Systems that Georgians use to vote. AT&T does not hold a contract to audit Dominions software or machines and did not have any of the companys equipment in its Nashville building. "AT&T got a contract to do forensic audit on Dominion voting machines and those machines were being moved to Nashville this past week," one Dec. 27 post says. We kept hearing from election officials that voting machines were never on the internet, he said. This is part of The Associated Press ongoing effort to fact-check misinformation that is shared widely online, including work with Facebook to identify and reduce the circulation of false stories on the platform. APS ASSESSMENT: False. And we knew that wasn't true. It is true Kennard serves on the board of Staple Street Capital (not Staple Street execs as the posts say). These claims are groundless. A Dominion spokeswoman said other company employees have also gone to more secure locations, been threatened and been digitally stalked. This is bogus. Oltmann claimed that Coomer said with a laugh on the call that he would make sure Trump didn't win the election. Even in an election where almost all the voting was recorded on paper ballots and rigorous audits were done more than ever before, none of that helps if millions of people are working with an alternative set of facts, said Joe Kiniry, chief scientist of the open-source election technology company Free & Fair. There is no evidence to support the claim that City Blue Imaging, a longtime Rochester, New York, printing business that went up in flames on Christmas Eve, was under investigation for printing fake ballots. The same Facebook post also said Dominion voting machines were being audited in the AT&T building that was destroyed by a bomb in Nashville. Some users seemed to recognize the story as fake, but others didnt. why?" Rumors about an investigation into the company do not even appear in web searches until after the fire. There is a bomb. Social media is home to several conspiracy theories about the explosion in Nashville on Christmas Day. Tim Walz signed into law one of the largest voter . AT&T was not contracted to audit Dominion Voting Systems' machines, and no Dominion machines were being held in the building outside of which the bomb exploded, spokespeople for both AT&T and Dominion confirmed. So we will clear it up: Its fake. Others are not so sure, and the state has set up an advisory committee. Reuters debunked this claim here . Similar claims have been shared in hundreds of public posts, according to CrowdTangle, a social media insights tool. CNN didnt report that Anthony Warner, the person authorities have identified as the bomber, died from COVID-19. ES&S confirmed they had sold scanners with wireless modems to at least 11 states. The conservative network has seen its ratings surge in . It was an assurance designed to bolster public confidence in the way America votes: Voting machines are not connected to the internet.. Heres more information on Facebooks fact-checking program: https://www.facebook.com/help/1952307158131536, Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. The bomb was located in a recreational vehicle that Warner owned. Dominionwas acquired by private equity firm Staple Street Capital, co-founded by financiers Hootan Yaghoobzadeh and StephenOwens, in 2018. Spokespeople for both AT&T and Dominion told USA TODAY that AT&T was not contracted to audit Dominion voting machines, and no Dominion voting machines were being held in the AT&T building outside of which the RV exploded. "Some of the threats that I've gotten have made very clear that these actors are in it for the long haul. Now the process of counting these votes . Early Christmas morning, police in Nashville came across an RV parked on Second Avenue, outside an AT&T transmission building, whileresponding to reports of shots fired in the area, Metro Nashville P, Fact check: Joe Biden legally won presidential election, despite persistent contrary claims, Neighbor recalls warning, countdown before Nashville explosion, Fact check: Viral photo shows fake logo and slogan for Dominion Voting Systems, Fact check: No, Joe Biden's brother-in-law does not own Dominion Voting Systems, Nashville officials resolved to find bombing suspects, learn motive behind explosion, "Nashville bombing: What we know about downtown explosion on Christmas morning, FBI Memphis Special Agent in Charge Announces Identity of Remains Discovered in Nashville Explosion Site; Multi-Agency Investigation Continues, FBI identifies suspect in Nashville bombing, AT&T outage Sunday updates: 'Progress continues' in restoring service after Nashville bombing, Dominion Voting Systems Acquired by its Management Team and Staple Street Capital. Fact-checkers have debunked claims that the explosion was the result of a missile strike. There was no evidence of a shooting, but both officers and witnesses heard a warning blare from the RV: "Evacuate now. Now, the alleged Dominion Voting Systems tie. Jim Greer, a spokesperson for AT&T,also told USA TODAY the claims are "not true.". "Dominion and AT&T have both called on the media and the public to reject the baseless rumors circulating on social media, which suggest without evidence that there was some election-related connection to the Nashville explosion," a spokesperson for Dominion told USA TODAY. As of now, the person of interest identified by the FBI in connection with the explosion, Anthony Quinn Warner, is believed to have been "paranoid about 5G technology" (another frequent subject of conspiracy theories) rather than possessing any election-related motive. The video, which was posted by a Facebook page called Red Pill Radio on Dec. 28, shows the outline of buildings and a highway in Nashville. The complicated theory began circulating soon after an RV exploded in downtown Nashville. Staple Street Capital took part in a deal with management to acquire Dominion in 2018 (here and here). The electronic voting system company accused the television network of spreading lies that Dominion machines were used to rig the 2020 election against Donald Trump. Early Christmas morning, police in Nashville came across an RV parked on Second Avenue, outside an AT&T transmission building, whileresponding to reports of shots fired in the area, Metro Nashville Police spokesperson Don Aaron told The Tennessean that day. SIOUX FALLS, S.D. A Dec. 14 Facebook video, viewed more than 23,000 times, claimed in its caption that "Trump WON The Election NEW Evidence Shows" because "a forensics report done on Dominion voting machines . (Photo by James Leynse/Corbis via Getty Images). Critics also argue ES&S has mislead jurisdictions into thinking their DS200 tabulators with modems are certified by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, a claim they say is grounds for an investigation. "Dominion and AT&T have both called on the media and the public to reject the baseless rumors circulating on social media, which suggest without evidence that there was some election-related connection to the Nashville explosion," a spokesperson for Dominion told USA TODAY. The FBI confirmed that a man named Anthony Warner was responsible for the bombing and was killed in the blast. But now, some state officials worry that the machines may pose a security risk and are pushing to have the modems removed. Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. So many government officials like Manfra have said the same thing over the last few years that it is commonly accepted as gospel by most Americans. Note that aspects of Tennessee law may differ with what is seen on the videos. Immediately, Coomer knew things would blow up. (Read more about, Breaking news meme generators are frequently used online to create fabricated headlines and chyrons such as this one. One theory shared thousands of times on Facebook over the weekend tries to connect the explosion to voting machines used in the Nov. 3 election. Examples can be seen here , here and here . See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. We found over 35 [voting systems] had been left online and were still continuing to find more, Kevin Skoglund, a senior technical advisor at the election security advocacy group National Election Defense Coalition, told NBC News. The bomb was located in a recreational vehicle owned by Warner. A spokesperson for the FBI's Denver Field Office confirmed that the FBI executed the . Those networks are among the defendants Coomer is suing. ", In an email to PolitiFact, a Dominion spokesperson said the company and AT&T are calling on everyone to reject these baseless rumors: "Americans should continue to seek information from verifiable, trusted sources, such as law enforcement authorities.". TheBatman-shaped skyscraper was first owned by Prefco XIV, a limited partnership ofPitney Bowes, which bought the building in 1994 for $100.8 million, according to the building's deed. You cansubscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or electronic newspaper replica here. While a building was destroyed in a blast in Nashville on Christmas Day, and a printing company in New York state caught fire on Christmas Eve and later burned down, neither building held evidence related to the U.S. elections. "The specific steps taken would depend on the recommendation and the timeline required to make changes effectively.. He claimed on his podcast that he'd infiltrated a call with Denver-area antifa members that included a man identified as "Eric from Dominion.". The three largest voting manufacturing companies Election Systems &Software, Dominion Voting Systems and Hart InterCivic have acknowledged they all put modems in some of their tabulators and scanners. Law enforcement authorities have suggested that Warner may have been paranoid about 5G technology, a QAnon-related conspiracy theory that makes an array of unproven claims including that it helps spread COVID-19 and is used as a spying tool by the government. Kevin Skoglund, senior technical advisor at the National Election Defense Coalition. According to Dominion, vote-switching and software malfunction allegations are "all baseless claims" that "have been debunked by election officials, subject matter experts and third-party fact. 2023 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Satellite Information Network, LLC. The 23-page report signed by a former Republican congressional candidate with a history of spreading misinformation about Michigan's election claims Dominion "is intentionally and purposefully designed with inherent errors to create systemic fraud and influence election results.". "When we're in the realm of coupling disinformation from both foreign and domestic sources, and government and nongovernment sources, and none of it is really grounded in reality evidence doesn't help much," he said. More:Neighbor recalls warning, countdown before Nashville explosion. Please note the instructions and videos shown here have been prepared by the manufacturers and are general in nature. And so we set out to try and find the voting machines to see if we could find them on the internet, and especially the back-end systems that voting machines in the precinct were connecting to to report their results.. For Coomer, that means his life may be forever changed. The posts all tie AT&T with Dominion, holding the explosion to be alleged proof of conspiracy. No amount of transparency at the county and state level can really combat the sort of megaphone that Trump wields, Kiniry says. Dominion has been the target of a wide range of false posts since American voters chose Joe Biden as their next president, despite no evidence of widespread fraud or irregularities in the 2020 election. A post on Facebook theorized that the two disasters were connected by a plot to steal the election. "Fuck a drag bill," they wrote in an Instagram post. The post implies that the bombing was an attempt to stop the audit and cover up voter fraud. Thank you for supporting our journalism. Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. All those. Here are the facts: CLAIM: President-elect Joe Biden's sister is married to Stephen Owens, the co-founder of the private equity firm Staple Street Capital, which owns Dominion Voting Systems . By the time the news conference occurred on Nov. 19, Mr. Trump's campaign had already prepared an internal memo on many of the outlandish claims about the company, Dominion Voting Systems, and. he instructions and videos shown here have been prepared by the manufacturers and are general in nature. Coomer said the first barb aimed at him came five days after the election. You cansubscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or electronic newspaper replica here. Last week, Dominion filed its fourth defamation lawsuit, this one a $1.6 billion whopper charging that Fox News spread the bogus conspiracy claim in order to boost ratings that plummeted after. More:Fact check: No, Joe Biden's brother-in-law does not own Dominion Voting Systems. That's false. Breitbart, by Hannah Bleau Original Article. So did the type of explosives used to detonate the blast. Note that aspects of Tennessee law may differ with what is seen on the videos. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Even if an election is run perfectly, it doesn't matter to a sizable portion of the public who believes it was unfair. Cerberus Capital Management, the firm named in the posts, does not own Dominion, nor does it own the company that does own Dominion, Staple Street Capital. All quotes delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. The building of City Blue Imaging (www.cityblueimaging.com/), a printing company in Rochester, New York, burnt down on Christmas morning after catching fire the night before ( here , here and here ). Coomer oversees product strategy and security for Dominion Voting Systems, the Denver-based company that has suddenly found itself at the center of many of President Trump's false claims about November's election, spread by allies and pro-Trump media. Donald Trump went after media mogul Rupert Murdoch and his network Fox News in rants on Truth Social where he once again pushed the baseless and debunked claim that the . "Anthony Warner is the bomber. hide caption. The Nashville outlet found . Social media users have been sharing content online that claims AT&T had a contract to do a forensic audit on Dominion Voting Systems machines and that the Dec. 25 explosion in Nashville,. Both Dominion Voting Systems andAT&T confirmed the communications company was not contracted to audit Dominion's machines. THE FACTS: As federal officials work to piece together a motive for the blast that rattled downtown Nashville on Christmas morning, social media users have invented their own far-fetched theories. Facebook post:The Nashville bombing was an attempt to stop an AT&T audit into Dominion software and cover up election corruption. AT&T had a contract to conduct a forensic audit of Dominion Voting Systems in Nashville just prior to a December 2020 explosion in that city. There is no evidence that the AT&T switching center damaged by the explosion (here) housed a supercomputer being used to alter the elections outcome. At its core is the prediction thatan alleged mass arrest ofhigh-profile Democrats and celebritieswould be carried out while now-former President Donald Trump secretly savedthe world from a satanic cult of pedophiles and cannibals. John Bazemore/AP While the voting machines themselves are not designed to be online, the larger voting systems in many states end up there, putting the voting process at risk. It also claims the AT&T building that was affected by the bomb is where those machines were being stored. Americans should continue to seek information from verifiable, trusted sources, such as law enforcement authorities, Dominion Voting Systems added. We should be unplugging all of these machines from the internet, Skoglund said. In . Singer reportedly funded the original investigation A spokesperson for Dominion Voting Systems confirmed to Reuters via email that the Stephen Owens at Staple Street has no family ties or business affiliations with Bidens sister, Valerie Biden Owens. The extent of our relationship is this: In 2009, Smartmatic licensed the use of a Dominion voting machine for use in the Philippines. The post was flagged as part of Facebooks efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. ", More:Three firefighters hurt battling three-alarm blaze in Rochester. However, the firm cited in that version of the claim Cerberus Capital Management doesnt own Dominion nor is it connected to Staple Street Capital, whichacquired Dominion in 2018. Last fall, when ES&S gave NBC News an exclusive tour at its headquarters in Omaha, Neb., Chief Executive Officer Tom Burt defended using modems when asked about the Sprint and Verizon modems seen in ES&S's testing area. Its true that an AT&T-owned building in Nashville was one of many buildings damaged in Fridays bombing, causing widespread communications outages. Posts online claim that the Christmas Day bombing in Nashville was an attempt to cover up election fraud because AT&T was conducting an audit of Dominion Voting Systems machines and that the equipment was recently relocated to the companys building that was damaged in the blast. "The loud speaker was to warn people that the bomb was going to go off.. 5:30a on Christmas morning was picked to ensure that nobody was around.. But he has no idea if that will ever be possible. 2023 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Satellite Information Network, LLC. Did AT&T Have a Contract to Audit Dominion Voting Systems? The post's creator did not respond to USA TODAY's request for comment. In an interview with Rochester's ABC 13, City Blue Imagingsales manager John Mealy condemned misinformation about the tragedy and dismissed the claims again. The voting conspiracy theories that have led millions of Republicans to feel as though the election was stolen from them, which are still spreading, have also led to calls for Coomer's head. With the 2020 presidential election only ten months away, Appel and Skoglund believe all modems can and should be removed from election systems. An executive for a voting machine company that has been the target of conspiracy theories in the aftermath of Donald Trump's 2020 election loss and been baselessly accused of swinging the. Smartmatic, a competitor of Dominion's that has also been the subject of wild rumors, has demanded that numerous news networks take back their allegations against it. It's just the latest example of how people's lives are being upended and potentially ruined by the unprecedented flurry of disinformation this year. Select an Infowars smear of Dominion Voting Systems.

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