Complaint
A viewer complained that the BBC’s North America Editor Sarah Smith had been incorrect in saying there had been no voter fraud identified in Georgia or in any other US state, maintaining the statement was inaccurate because there had been “numerous examples of ballot stuffing, postal vote fraud, fraudulent voting, voting by deceased persons, and voting by illegal immigrants” affecting the 2024 election. The ECU considered the complaint in the light of the BBC’s editorial standards of accuracy.
Outcome
What Ms Smith said was: “Multiple investigations and legal challenges after the 2020 election found no evidence of sustained voter fraud in Georgia or in any other state”, so it is evident that she was referring to the 2020 election (and to sustained fraud). Irrespective of the accuracy of the complainant’s own claims about the 2024 election, they did not affect the accuracy of Ms Smith’s statement.
Not upheld