FACT CHECK: No, This Video Does Not Show A Man Secretly Wheeling Ballots Into Detroit’s Ballot Counting Center
A video shared on Facebook purportedly shows a man unloading ballots from a white van to secretly wheel them into Detroit’s ballot counting center in the middle of the night.
Verdict: False
The video shows a photographer for a local news station unloading and transporting camera equipment, not ballots.
Fact Check:
The video shows a man unloading something from a white van into a red wagon and wheeling it into Detroit’s TCF Center. The woman heard speaking in the video suggests that the man is surreptitiously bringing ballots to the ballot-counting center.
“They’re bringing in ballots in coolers. There’s no election officials, there’s no officers,” the woman says. “Does this look legitimate to any of you? This is not a ballot-counting operation, this is a coup.” (RELATED: Do These Photos Show Bricks Laid Out For Riots In Detroit?)
Detroit-based news station WXYZ identified the man in the video as one of their photographers. He was not wheeling in ballots, but rather loading video equipment, according to WXYZ. Ross Jones, an investigative reporter for the news station, tweeted that the photographer was “bringing down equipment for our 12-hour shift.”
A conservative “news” site reports catching a man wheeling in “suspicious” equipment to the Detroit convention center, implying it was used to steal ballots.
The “ballot thief” was my photographer. He was bringing down equipment for our 12-hour shift. https://t.co/4UsRdOncZ3
— Ross Jones (@rossjonesWXYZ) November 5, 2020
Rudy Harper, another reporter for WXYZ, also tweeted a photo of the wagon holding video equipment on Nov. 5, saying, “An actual photo of the wagon and box that carries a device that allows us to go live. It’s not ballots. #wagongate.”
An actual photo of the wagon and box that carries a device that allows us to go live.
It’s not ballots. #wagongate https://t.co/krvLkQx9J2 pic.twitter.com/SCAvr5FUdB
— Rudy Harper (@RudyHarperWXYZ) November 5, 2020
Tracy Wimmer, director of media relations for the Michigan Secretary of State, confirmed to Check Your Fact via email the man was from a “local TV station bringing in camera equipment.”
This fact check is available at IFCN’s 2020 US Elections FactChat #Chatbot on WhatsApp. Click here, for more.
