A note to our readers who think President Trump won

Since the election, we’ve heard from many readers who are disappointed with our fact-checking work on the election results. Here are a few of the comments we’ve received.

• "As usual you lie. There are countless election poll watchers who have given sworn affidavits in illegal activities at the polls.  You are so far left-wing that you can't see the forest for the trees."

• "I do not know why I bother with you. You are a puppet for the Democrats. No fraud????? How about Arizona? Can you read?"

• "And what if Trump had WON?? The Democrats would be doing the same thing and as AOC promised there would be rioting in the streets and anarchy!!"

• "How could the truth be any more obvious?  President Trump is way more popular than in his first election. There is no way he could have lost this time in a legitimate election."

• "Why are you opposed to a recount or legal intervention?  ... Those of us who support Trump are fully supportive of his actions. Are you afraid of finding out the truth?  I would think you would want to legally check into possibilities of election fraud."
   

It's an unfortunate product of these polarized times that information deemed unfavorable toward a candidate is perceived as partisan. Our role is not to make any candidate look good — and it’s certainly not to help any candidate win an election. It's to help you navigate a confusing information landscape and make sure you have access to accurate information.

We do take election fraud seriously, and we have checked out many statements over the years. This year, we haven’t seen evidence to support those claims. In fact, this election has been the most scrutinized of any we’ve seen in our 13 years of fact-checking. 

It wouldn’t be right for us to report election results as in dispute when they’re not, or to say that a winner isn’t clear when it is. We would apply these same standards if the situation were reversed and Trump was leading Biden in the public vote counts.

We hope you’ll keep reading PolitiFact, even if you dislike our findings. A democracy depends on people being able to consider evidence and then deliberate on the best path forward.