Overview

Starlink 2024 United States Election Fraud Conspiracy Theory refers to a conspiracy theory claiming that billionaire Elon Musk's company SpaceX manipulated the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election in favor of President-elect Donald Trump by using his Starlink satellite internet system. The theory claims that the high-speed broadband internet satellites were connected to the voting machine supply chain to benefit Trump, which uncounted or altered millions of votes for Democratic candidate and Vice President Kamala Harris using a method like changing code, ultimately helping him to win. Despite several media outlets debunking the electoral fraud conspiracy theory by pointing out that the voting machines are generally not connected to the internet, the Starlink theory was spread widely online in mid-November 2024 following the conclusion of the election, especially on TikTok, Reddit and X / Twitter.

Background

Discussions about conspiracy theories related to why Kamala Harris lost the election began to emerge in the following days shortly after the race was called for Donald Trump. On November 8th, 2024, a tweet by the X^[8] account @YourAnonNews about strange statements from Donald Trump and Elon Musk that "fueled doubts about election integrity" garnered virality.

The exact quote attributed to Elon Musk does not exist, however, he said something similar on October 17th, 2024, when he addressed Pennsylvania voters at an America PAC Town Hall, saying that the voting machines could be vulnerable to hacking and "it's too easy to add just one line." The tweet (seen below) amassed over 55,000 likes and 14,000 reposts in five days.^[9]

On November 9th, TikTok user @etheria77 uploaded a nine-minute video claiming that an engineer told her that California and other swing states were able to use Elon Musk's Starlink satellite system "in order to tally up and to count ballot votes." She has since deleted the video, but the X account @AesPolitics1^[1] reposted it on the same day (seen below), amassing over 4 million views and 33,000 likes in two days.

Also on November 9th, 2024, TikToker @etheria77^[2] reposted a video by meteorologist Todd Gross commenting on the fall of a few Starlink satellites after a rocket failure in which she suggests it was a cover-up to destroy the satellites supposedly used in the electoral fraud. The video (seen below) garnered over 55,000 plays and 3,400 likes in two days.

Developments

Missing Votes Theories

As the conspiracy theory linking Elon Musk's Starlink company to supposed electoral fraud was popularized online in November 2024, some netizens started claiming the satellites had influenced millions of votes missing during the 2024 Presidential Election.

For example, on November 10th, 2024, X^[3] user @RealJoeBonanno tweeted that over 700 Starlink satellites have been taken out of orbit and "13.7 million votes missing" at the same time the alleged voters received messages "that there [sic] ballot wasn’t counted." The post (seen below), amassed more than 55,000 likes and 13,000 reposts in a day.

However, the widespread conspiratorial rumors about millions of missing votes were debunked in the days following the 2024 Presidential Election, with the AP^[12] covering it in an article on November 6th reporting that the claims were unfounded.

Media Coverage and Debunking

According to the tabloid Newsweek,^[4] Starlink's meddling in the United States Presidential Election mainly spread among left-wing conspiracy theorists. The website also mentioned that voting machines are, generally, "not connected to the internet" and a few states are allowed "ballot scanners to transmit unofficial results using a mobile private network after voting ends on Election Day, and after memory cards containing the vote tallies have been removed."

The Telegraph^[5] wrote an article on November 11th, 2024, claiming the conspiracy theories posts "falsely alleging Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite network was used to manipulate the result" spread on social media using hashtags such as “#TrumpCheated” have been shared across Threads and X, while calls for recounts have been shared with the phrase "#SwingStateHandRecount."

On November 10th, 2024, PolitiFact^[10] also debunked the destroyed Starlink satellites after the election theory, writing that a particular satellite from Musk's space company reentered Earth’s atmosphere on November 10th and exploded but, according to experts, "such reentries have been happening almost daily for the past few years and are not noteworthy."

Online Reactions

The Starlink electoral fraud conspiracy theory grew massively in the following days after the 2024 United States Presidential Election ended on November 5th, as some netizens asked for a new election and that Elon Musk's company comply with information regarding the voting ballots.

For instance, on November 10th, 2024, X^[6] user @JamesTate121 posted a TV news clip about the usage of Starlink's satellite internet in a ballot, writing, "Elon Musk used Starlink to hack our elections so he can have nice things while inflicting pain on Americans." The twee garnered over 207,000 views and 7,600 likes in two days.

Redditors also commented about Starlink's conspiracy theory, sharing screenshots and other examples of purported evidence of election interference by Elon Musk's company. For example, on November 9th, Redditor Fast_Block6353^[7] posted a highlighted comment on TikToker @etheria77's nine-minute video to the /r/millennials subreddit, writing, "There are millions of people with missing ballots, people saying their ballot was not shown as registered on vote.org, there was Russian interference, bomb threats in democratic cities, blown up ballot boxes in democratic cities." The post (seen below) gained roughly 450 upvotes and 460 comments in three days.

On November 10th, 2024, a thread inquiring about the conspiracy theory was posted to the subreddit /r/OutOfTheLoop,^[11] receiving over 940 upvotes and 250 comments in two days. The top-voted answer from Redditor toptierdegenerate, which received nearly 200 upvotes in the same timeframe, said:

Answer: This Newsweek Article^[4] explains the basics. I’m still of the opinion that it never hurts to do select audits with hand counts in every state. Because the voting process is run on a state level, it is up to state election commissions to determine whether to perform audits, and of which districts/precincts, and in what way. There are different voting systems (software and machines) that each state contracts with. And in this day and age, with software and hacking constantly evolving, once every four years is likely necessary to ensure the cybersecurity of every single contracted company and their products is up-to-snuff.

Search Interest

External References