# Alexa says the 2020 election was stolen **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [October 8, 2023, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alexa-says-the-2020-election-was-stolen/991274 "2023-10-08T15:54:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2023, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alexa-says-the-2020-election-was-stolen/991274/1 "2023-10-08T15:54:40Z")
This is not good. > [@](#): > > Asked about fraud in the race — in which [President Biden](https://www.washingtonpost.com/elections/candidates/joe-biden-2024/?itid=lk_inline_manual_2) defeated former president [Donald Trump](https://www.washingtonpost.com/donald-trump/?itid=lk_inline_manual_2) with[306 electoral college votes](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/electoral-college-affirms-bidens-victory-on-a-relatively-calm-day-of-a-chaotic-election/2020/12/14/0994b232-3e48-11eb-9453-fc36ba051781_story.html?itid=lk_inline_manual_2) — the popular voice assistant said it was “stolen by a massive amount of election fraud,” [citing Rumble](https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/08/12/rumble-video-gabbard-greenwald/?itid=lk_inline_manual_2), a video-streaming service favored by conservatives. > > The 2020 races were “notorious for many incidents of irregularities and indications pointing to electoral fraud taking place in major metro centers,” according to Alexa, referencing [Substack, a subscription newsletter service](https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/01/27/substack-misinformation-anti-vaccine/?itid=lk_inline_manual_3). Alexa contended that Trump won Pennsylvania, citing “an Alexa answers contributor.” The article goes on to say that people tend to trust Alexa more than other sources like Wikipedia, because it sounds like a real person talking to them, and because they think the statements are endorsed by Amazon, not read listing that Alexa just scans the internet. > **[Amazon’s Alexa has been claiming the 2020 election was stolen](https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/10/07/amazon-alexa-news-2020-election-misinformation/?pwapi_token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJyZWFzb24iOiJnaWZ0IiwibmJmIjoxNjk2NzM3NjAwLCJpc3MiOiJzdWJzY3JpcHRpb25zIiwiZXhwIjoxNjk4MTE5OTk5LCJpYXQiOjE2OTY3Mzc2MDAsImp0aSI6IjA3ZGUyNDk4LWVmOGEtNGM0OC05YmFjLWYyNmZlNjY5MzJlMSIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOi8vd3d3Lndhc2hpbmd0b25wb3N0LmNvbS90ZWNobm9sb2d5LzIwMjMvMTAvMDcvYW1hem9uLWFsZXhhLW5ld3MtMjAyMC1lbGVjdGlvbi1taXNpbmZvcm1hdGlvbi8ifQ.4rOFvHX38Gue9dF5NYg1I_doVReFbxoy-zRP0wM3UZ8&itid=gfta)** > > Alexa says the 2020 race was stolen, even as parent company Amazon promotes the voice assistant as a reliable source of election news. ---
**Author:** ![Ponderoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponderoid/32/19221_2.png) [@Ponderoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponderoid)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2023, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alexa-says-the-2020-election-was-stolen/991274/2 "2023-10-08T15:58:59Z")
I wonder if this is a result of a sophisticated google bombing. I haven’t heard about those in a while, but something like this would be worth it to try to engineer. This is why we can’t have nice things. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2023, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alexa-says-the-2020-election-was-stolen/991274/3 "2023-10-08T16:00:03Z")
Alexa, unindicted co-conspirator #3762. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2023, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alexa-says-the-2020-election-was-stolen/991274/4 "2023-10-08T16:25:50Z")
> [@Ponderoid](#): > > I wonder if this is a result of a sophisticated google bombing. Or is it a flaw in Amazon’s methodology, which assumes the more internet sources that say the same thing, it’s more likely to be true? A lie is likely to be halfway around the world while truth is putting in its boots. ---
**Author:** ![Section\_Maker\_Jupe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/section_maker_jupe/32/1424_2.png) [@Section\_Maker\_Jupe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Section_Maker_Jupe)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2023, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alexa-says-the-2020-election-was-stolen/991274/5 "2023-10-08T16:29:55Z")
I just asked that question and Alexa answered “I cant answer that question”… I asked who won the 2020 election and it responded , “Joe Biden” and listed all the statistics. ---
**Author:** ![TheCuse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thecuse/32/2854_2.png) [@TheCuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheCuse)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2023, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alexa-says-the-2020-election-was-stolen/991274/6 "2023-10-08T16:32:20Z")
^^same here. Alexa just told me Joe Biden beat incumbent Donald Trump and then listed the stats. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2023, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alexa-says-the-2020-election-was-stolen/991274/7 "2023-10-08T16:35:26Z")
Yes, Amazon blocked that particular question. But the WaPo article indicates that even after that question was blocked, asking the same question indifferent ways got the stolen election answer. > To questions The Post had flagged to the company, Alexa answered, “I’m sorry, I’m not able to answer that.” Other questions still prompt the device to say there was election fraud in 2020. ---
**Author:** ![TeroSunbear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terosunbear/32/14748_2.png) [@TeroSunbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TeroSunbear)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2023, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alexa-says-the-2020-election-was-stolen/991274/8 "2023-10-09T01:12:17Z")
" Where does Alexa get her news? If this is your first time using either, Alexa will ask you to pick your preferred news source (choose from **NPR, Fox News, CNN** and more). You can view all News providers and change your preferred news source in the Alexa app." 🤮