### Trump Declared President-Elect Amidst Questions of Missing Votes

Amid intense scrutiny and speculation, President-elect Donald J. Trump was announced the winner of this year's presidential election on Wednesday. Initial vote counts revealed a substantial drop in Democratic votes compared to the 2020 election, sparking debates and conspiracy theories across the political spectrum.

For many Republicans, the reduction in Democratic votes was taken as evidence of alleged fraudulent activities in the 2020 election. They pointed to the sharp discrepancy as proof that Democrats had fabricated millions of votes in 2020, despite multiple confirmations from election officials, extensive audits, and court rulings verifying the integrity of the process.

This significant shortfall also fueled skepticism among Democratic supporters online. Hundreds of thousands of social media posts urged Vice President Kamala Harris to refrain from conceding. They voiced suspicions that millions of votes were unaccounted for, even though federal agencies assured that this year's election was conducted securely and without any major issues.

It's rare for opposing political factions to generate conspiracy theories from the same data, but this year, both sides have focused on the Democrats' poor performance as a key narrative. This phenomenon underscores the strong appeal of election fraud stories to beat electoral disappointment and the powerful role of social media in amplifying these narratives. This is despite a lack of evidence supporting any malicious manipulation of the election results.

Jen Easterly, director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, affirmed that there was "no evidence of any malicious activity that had a material impact on the security or integrity of our election infrastructure."

According to updated estimates by The Associated Press, the total number of votes cast in this election will be approximately 157.6 million, marking a decrease of around 700,000 votes from the 2020 election. The gap between Trump and Harris continues to close as ballots are still being counted in Democratic-leaning states such as California, Washington, and Oregon, which typically take longer to process mail-in votes.

Stuart A. Thompson, known for his work on tracking false and misleading information online, notes that these election fraud theories highlight how misinformation can captivate partisans on both sides of the political divide, particularly in the wake of electoral losses.