Fact check: Fabricated statement attributed to Rep. Scott Perry about 2020 election

Sudiksha Kochi, USA TODAY
·4 min read
53

The claim: An image shows a TV graphic with a statement from Rep. Scott Perry

A Dec. 20 Facebook post (direct link, archived link) shows a purported TV graphic from WGAL-TV in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, with a statement from Pennsylvania Republican Rep. Scott Perry.

The supposed statement reads:

"I stand by my statement that Italian Satellites controlled by our own CIA with the help of the Italian government switched millions of votes from President Trump to Joe Biden. There was even proof of this on the Internet which has since ‘mysteriously’ disappeared. There were also credible reports on the Internet that Chinese thermostats in American homes switched votes as well which also disappeared."

"These are the geniuses taking over the House in January" reads the post's caption.

The post, along with others in a similar vein, was shared more than 100 times in less than a week. Similar posts have generated more than a thousand likes on Twitter.

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Our rating: Altered

A WGAL-TV spokesperson told USA TODAY no such graphic was aired, and Perry's office said the congressman never issued such a statement to begin with. The original graphic stems from a June WGAL-TV report on Perry.

TV graphic is fabricated

Perry tweeted on Dec. 22 that the image was "fake." In addition, Jay Ostrich, the district director for Perry, told USA TODAY in an email that their office did not issue any such statement.

Cindy DeLuca, a WGAL-TV spokesperson, also told USA TODAY in an email that the outlet never aired the purported statement.

The graphic on social media appears to be an altered version of a June 23 WGAL-TV report on Perry's alleged attempt to help former President Donald Trump overturn the 2020 election. A former White House aide testified that Perry sought a pardon for his actions, but he denied that claim in a statement shown in a similar graphic:

"I stand by my statement that I never sought a Presidential pardon for myself or other members of Congress," Perry's statement said. "At no time did I speak with Ms. Hutchinson, a White House scheduler, nor any White House staff about a pardon for myself or any other member of Congress, this never happened."

The original graphic contains the same heading, photo of Perry and logo of WGAL-TV as in the manipulated graphic.

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Although the statement in the Facebook post is fabricated, Perry has voiced the baseless claim that an Italian defense contractor used a military satellite to manipulate votes in the 2020 election, according to the Washington Post. Multiple Justice Department officials have debunked the claim.

The baseless claim about the Chinese manipulating votes through thermostats shown in the manipulated graphic was amplified by Jeffery Clark, a former Justice Department official who has ties with Perry, the Washington Post reported. The Justice Department said the claim was “not credible."

There was no widespread fraud that affected the 2020 election results. Biden won 306 electoral votes compared to Trump's 232. Numerous recounts, reviews and forensic audits have confirmed these results are legitimate, as USA TODAY previously reported.

USA TODAY reached out to the social media users who shared the claim for comment.

Lead Stories and Reuters also debunked this claim.

Our fact-check sources:

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Fabricated statement from Scott Perry spreads online