Elections

Anonymous users are dominating right-wing discussions online. They also spread false information

As the presidential election draws nearer, the spread of bogus information online is getting a huge boost from social media accounts that have been created anonymously.

FILE - President Joe Biden speaks at the Washoe Democratic Party Office in Reno, Nev., March 19, 2024. Biden's reelection campaign and the Democratic National Committee said Saturday, April 6, that they raised more than $90 million in March and ended the year's first quarter with $192-plus million in cash on-hand, further stretching an already sizeable money advantage over his opponent, former President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

Biden and Democrats report raising $90 million-plus in March, stretching their cash lead over Trump

FILE - President Donald Trump, right, shakes hands with John Paulson during a meeting of the Economic Club of New York in New York, Nov. 12, 2019. Trump's campaign is expecting to raise more than $40 million on Saturday, April 6, 2024, when a group of major donors gather at Paulson's Palm Beach, Fla. home for Trump's biggest fundraiser yet as his third White House campaign drastically ramps up fundraising. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

Trump’s campaign is expecting to raise a record $43 million at a high-dollar Florida fundraiser

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. speaks to supporters during an event, Saturday, March 30, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. questions prosecutions for Jan. 6 attack, says he wants to hear ‘every side’

India’s opposition Congress party leaders from left, Sonia Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, and Rahul Gandhi, display copies of party’s election manifesto during a press conference in New Delhi, India, Friday, April 5, 2024. India's 6-week-long general election starts on April 19 and results will be announced on June 4. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

India’s opposition makes its election case, calling Modi an autocrat and promising aid to the poor

Presidential candidate Pellegrini votes in 2nd round of Slovak elections

Presidential candidate Pellegrini votes in 2nd round of Slovak elections

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Slovak presidential candidate Korčok votes in 2nd round elections

Leading candidates launch their campaigns as North Macedonia’s monthlong presidential race kicks off

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer writes a book detailing her rapid rise in Democratic politics

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Senate candidates in New Mexico tout fundraising tallies in 2-way race

Campaign fundraising is off to a quick start in the New Mexico contest between incumbent U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich and lone Republican contender Nella Domenici.

Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati delivers her statement during a hearing on the presidential election result dispute at the Constitutional Court in Jakarta, Indonesia, Friday, April 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Indonesian Cabinet ministers deny claims by losing presidential candidates of misused government aid

Four Indonesian Cabinet members have testified that no rules were violated in the distribution of government aid during the recent election campaign, despite claims by the two losing presidential candidates that it was used for the benefit of the election winner.

People pass by posters of candidates running for the upcoming parliamentary election in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, April 3, 2024. As South Koreans prepare to vote for a new 300-member parliament next week, many are choosing their livelihoods and other domestic topics as their most important election issues. This represents a stark contrast from past elections, which were overshadowed by security and foreign policy issues like North Korean nuclear threats and the U.S. security commitment.(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

South Korea election issues: Green onions, striking doctors, an alleged sexist jab at a candidate

As South Koreans prepare to vote for a new 300-member parliament next week, many are choosing their livelihoods and other domestic topics as their most important election issues.

FILE - Sarah Matthews, former White House deputy press secretary, arrives as the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol holds a hearing at the Capitol in Washington, July 21, 2022. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

Former Trump officials are among the most vocal opponents of returning him to the White House

As Trump seeks the presidency a third time, he’s being shadowed by a chorus of people who served in his administration who have become sharp critics, some offering dire predictions about his return to power.

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. speaks to supporters during a campaign event, Saturday, March 30, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

Kennedy campaign blames vendor for email sympathetic to Jan. 6 insurrectionists

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s presidential campaign has terminated a contract with a vendor it blamed for sending a fundraising email that referred to people facing charges for the Jan. 6 insurrection as “activists” who were “stripped of their constitutional liberties.”

Treasurer for dozens of Ohio political campaigns accused of stealing nearly $1M from clients

A man who has served as treasurer for dozens of political campaigns in Ohio over the past 40 years is facing federal wire fraud charges for allegedly stealing nearly $1 million from clients.

Former candidate for Maryland governor fined over campaign material

The campaign committee of a former candidate for Maryland governor has been fined $2,000 for sending campaign material without an identifying authority line.

Kristin Lyerly announces her candidacy for Wisconsin's 8th Congressional District in Green Bay, Wis. on Thursday, April 4, 2024. She’s the first Democratic candidate, entering the race for the open seat created after the surprise retirement of Republican Rep. Mike Gallagher. (WLUK-TV via AP)

Wisconsin doctor who sued to protect abortion access joins congressional race

A doctor from De Pere becomes the first Democratic candidate in Wisconsin’s 8th Congressional District.

FILE - In this handout photo provided by Photo host Agency RIA Novosti, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune addresses a plenary session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg, Russia, Friday, June 16, 2023. President Tebboune’s surprise decision to schedule elections earlier than expected in Algeria is prompting suspicion and appears to be awakening discouraged political parties from a deep lethargy.(Alexei Danichev/Photo host Agency RIA Novosti via AP, File)

Algerians question president for calling an early election without announcing his own campaign

President Abdelmadjid Tebboune’s surprise decision to schedule elections earlier than expected in Algeria is prompting suspicion and appears to be awakening discouraged political parties from a deep lethargy.

Supporters of the opposition VMRO-DPMNE party light torches during a rally to support their presidential candidate Gordana Siljanovska Davkova in front of the government building in Skopje, North Macedonia, on Thursday, April 4, 2024. North Macedonia's presidential race kicked off on Thursday, with seven candidates vying for the post in a two-round vote that will conclude on May 8. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)

North Macedonia starts monthlong presidential campaign season

North Macedonia’s presidential race has kicked off, with seven candidates vying for the largely ceremonial post in a two-round vote that will conclude on May 8.

FILE - U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., addresses attendees at the Republican Party of Florida Freedom Summit, Nov. 4, 2023, in Kissimmee, Fla. To continue holding his seat in Florida, Scott needs to appeal to key voter groups in the state. With a new series of ads rolled out by the senator, Scott is spending multiple millions to focus on the prominent Florida Hispanic voter group as part of this goal. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack, File)

US Sen. Rick Scott spends multiple millions on ads focused on Florida’s Hispanic voters

U.S. Sen. Rick Scott is spending millions of campaign dollars on ads focused on Florida’s Hispanic voters.

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks, Tuesday, April 2, 2024, at a rally in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Mike Roemer)

Trump and the Republican Party say they raised more than $65.6 million in March

Donald Trump and the Republican Party say they raised more than $65.6 million in March as the former president became the presumptive nominee and installed new party leadership.

Lawsuit asks judge to disqualify ballot measure that seeks to repeal Alaska’s ranked voting system

A lawsuit from three Alaska voters asks a judge to disqualify a ballot measure that seeks to repeal the state’s open primary and ranked vote elections system.

Turkish President and leader of the Justice and Development Party, or AKP, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, right, arrives to vote to a polling station in Istanbul, Turkey, Sunday, March 31, 2024. Turkey is holding local elections on Sunday that will decide who gets to control Istanbul and other key cities. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

Turkey’s top election authority restores newly elected pro-Kurdish mayor’s right to hold office

Turkey’s highest election authority has restored a newly elected pro-Kurdish mayor’s right to hold office.

FILE - Wisconsin's Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos talks to reporters at the state Capitol, Feb. 15, 2022, in Madison, Wis. The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to offer clarity on what legislative district boundary lines should be in play for a potential recall election sought by supporters of former President Donald Trump targeting Vos. (AP Photo/Andy Manis, File)

Wisconsin Supreme Court refuses to clarify district boundaries for potential recall election

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has refused to offer clarity on what legislative district boundary lines should be in play for a potential recall election sought by supporters of former President Donald Trump targeting the Republican Assembly speaker.

Three-year old- K-Lee waits as her mother Heather Ramsey votes during the Spring election Tuesday, April 2, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Why AP called Wisconsin’s statewide ballot measures: Race call explained

The vote in Wisconsin to approve a pair of proposed constitutional amendments that would limit how state elections are run and paid for fell largely along party lines.

FILE - New York City Mayor Eric Adams gestures as he attends a news conference at City Hall in New York, March 19, 2024. Dwyane Montgomery, a former New York Police officer who prosecutors say was the ringleader of a campaign donations scheme to help Mayor Eric Adams during his winning 2021 run, was sentenced Tuesday, April2, 2024, authorities said. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez, File)

Ex-police officer gets 200 hours community service for campaign scheme to help New York City mayor

A former police officer who prosecutors say was the ringleader of a campaign donations scheme to help New York City Mayor Eric Adams during his winning 2021 run has been sentenced.

FILE - Voters fill out ballots at an elementary school in Tesuque, N.M., on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022. A federal judge has ruled, Tuesday, April 2, 2024, that New Mexico election regulators violated public disclosure provisions of the National Voter Registration Act in withholding voter rolls from a conservative group and its public online database. (AP Photo/Morgan Lee, File)

Judge sides with conservative group in its push to access, publish voter rolls online

A federal judge has ruled that New Mexico election officials violated public disclosure provisions of the National Voter Registration Act by refusing to provide voter rolls to a conservative group and its public online database.

FILE - A former absentee ballot drop box has been transformed into a pro-democracy piece of art, Oct. 25, 2022, in Madison, Wis. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers urged the Wisconsin Supreme Court on Tuesday, April 2, 2024, to overturn a ruling that banned absentee ballot drop boxes in the presidential battleground state. (AP Photo/Scott Bauer, File)

Wisconsin governor urges state Supreme Court to revoke restrictions on absentee ballot drop boxes

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers is urging the Wisconsin Supreme Court to once again allow absentee ballot drop boxes in places beyond the election offices they are now restricted to.

FILE - Pope Francis, left, and Pope Benedict XVI, meet each other on the occasion of the elevation of five new cardinals at the Vatican, on June 28, 2017. Pope Francis has exposed the political “maneuvers” to sway votes during the past two conclaves and denied he is planning to reform the process to elect a pope in a new book-length interview published Tuesday April 2, 2024. (L'Osservatore Romano/Pool photo via AP, File)

Pope exposes confidential details of past conclaves and settles scores with Pope Benedict XVI’s aide

Pope Francis has exposed the political “maneuvers” used to sway votes during the two most recent elections of popes in a book-length interview.

Bassirou Diomaye Faye is sworn in as Senegal's president in Dakar, Senegal, Tuesday, April 2, 2024. Senegal has sworn in Bassirou Diomaye Faye as its new president, completing the previously little-known opposition figure’s dramatic ascent from prison to the palace in recent weeks. Faye was released from prison less than two weeks before the March election following a political amnesty announced by the outgoing president. (AP Photo/Sylvain Cherkaoui)

Senegal swears in Africa’s youngest elected leader as president in a dramatic prison-to-palace rise

Senegal has inaugurated Africa’s youngest elected leader as president, as the 44-year-old and previously little-known Bassirou Diomaye Faye completed a dramatic ascent from prison to palace within weeks.

Kansas state Sen. Rick Kloos, R-Topeka, confers with Mike Heim, a member of the Legislature's legal staff, during negotiations between the House and the Senate over elections legislation, Monday, April 1, 2024, at the Statehouse in Topeka, Kan. Republicans are pushing to end the extra three days given to voters to return mail ballots, calling it a move that will increase confidence in election results. (AP Photo/John Hanna)

Kansas GOP lawmakers revive a plan to stop giving voters 3 extra days to return mail ballots

The Republican-controlled Kansas Legislature has revived a proposal to stop giving voters three extra days after polls close to return mail ballots.

Three-year old- K-Lee waits as her mother Heather Ramsey votes during the Spring election Tuesday, April 2, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Wisconsin voters approve ban on private money support for elections

Private money to fund elections will be banned in Wisconsin after voters approved a constitutional amendment Tuesday put forward by Republicans in reaction to grants received in 2020 that were funded by donations from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.

A voter braves a cold rain running to cast a ballot during the Spring election Tuesday, April 2, 2024, in Fox Point, Wis. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Biden and Trump win Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York and Wisconsin primaries

Voters in four states weighed in on their parties’ presidential nominees, a largely symbolic vote now that both Joe Biden and Donald Trump have locked up the Democratic and Republican nominations.

An Iowa woman is sentenced in a ballot box stuffing scheme that supported husband’s campaign

The wife of a northwestern Iowa county supervisor has been sentenced to four months in jail in a scheme to stuff the ballot box to support her husband’s unsuccessful campaign for Congress.

FILE - Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi reviews an honor guard during his swearing-in ceremony for a second term in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024. Tshisekedi appointed the country's first female prime minister on Monday, April 1, fulfilling a campaign promise and making an important step towards the formation of a new government after being reelected late last year. (AP Photo/Guylain Kipoke, File)

Congo appoints its first female prime minister as violence surges in the east

Congo’s president has appointed the country’s first female prime minister, fulfilling a campaign promise and taking an important step toward the formation of a new government after his reelection late last year.

Two women sit near a campaign banner of Turkish President and leader of the Justice and Development Party, or AKP, Recep Tayyip in Istanbul, Turkey, Monday, March 11, 2024. Turkey was coming to terms on Monday with the opposition's unexpected success in local elections which saw it outperform President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling party and add to municipalities gained five years ago. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

After a huge setback in local elections, which way forward now for Turkey’s Erdogan?

Huge gains made by the opposition in Turkey’s local elections have led to questions about the path the country’s long-serving leader will take before the next round of voting in four years’ time.

Security vehicles escort a police van carrying Arvind Kejriwal, leader of the Aam Admi Party, or Common Man's Party, to Tihar prison from a local court, in New Delhi, India, Monday, April 1, 2024. A court in India on Monday placed a top opposition leader in two weeks of judicial detention after his 10 days in the custody of a federal agency expired, in a case that opposition parties say is part of a crackdown by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government on rivals ahead of a national election later this month. (AP Photo/Dinesh Joshi)

An Indian court sends a top opposition leader to jail until shortly before election

A court in Indian has placed a top opposition leader in two weeks of judicial detention after his 10 days in the custody of a federal agency expired.

FILE - Voters wait in line outside a polling center on Election Day, Nov. 3, 2020, in Kenosha, Wis. Wisconsin's presidential primary contest Tuesday, April 2, 2024, clears the way for a general election campaign Democrats see as an opportunity unlike any in recent history, where new legislative maps could help the party at the top of the ticket. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E, File)

Democrats hope Biden could get a boost from down-ballot races under Wisconsin’s new legislative map

Wisconsin’s presidential primary this Tuesday will clear the way for a general election campaign that Democrats see as an opportunity unlike any in recent state history.

Republican People's Party, or CHP, supporters gather to celebrate outside City Hall in Istanbul, Turkey, Sunday, March 31, 2024. Turkey's main opposition party retained its control over key cities and made huge gains elsewhere in Sunday's local elections, preliminary results showed, in a major upset to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who had set his sights on retaking control of those urban areas. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

In setback to Turkey’s Erdogan, opposition makes huge gains in local election

Turkey’s main opposition party has retained its control over key cities and made huge gains in local elections.