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Did 20 million votes really go missing in the US election?

We investigate a viral graph that suggests turnout was drastically lower than in 2020.

Just hours after Donald Trump claimed victory in the US presidential election, rumours started swirling that something was afoot.
A graph went viral on social media that appeared to show there were 20 million more votes cast in 2020 than in the 2024 election. Where had these supposedly β€œmissing” votes gone?

Conspiracy theorists on both sides of the political spectrum began shouting claims of fraud.

The answer, it turns out, is rather more straightforward.

Presenter: Charlotte McDonald
Producer: Lizzy McNeill
Series producer: Tom Colls
Production co-ordinator: Katie Morrison
Sound Mix: Hal Haines
Editor: Richard Vadon

Release date:

Available now

9 minutes

Podcast