Abstract: Presidential elections are routinely the most anticipated and publicized processes of the United States government, and have become exponentially more contentious each cycle. As social media platforms become progressively more integrated into politics, the misinformation spread on such platforms more aptly implants itself within the public psyche. The Republican Party and the Trump Administration weaponized this aptitude during the 2020 election cycle, falsely claiming that the election was illegally won by the Biden campaign. The consequences of such has been documented in the context of the 2020 election. This study aims to evaluate the impacts of this “Big Lie” on the most recent 2024 presidential election. Findings suggest that Republican voters in western Pennsylvania, a key swing state, widely believe such claims regarding election fraud despite overwhelming evidence demonstrating that this is false. Should this misinformation persist in further elections with similar magnitude, the lie can become entrenched in political discussion as a fundamental fact similar to misinformation regarding other contemporary topics such as climate change, further polarizing the two parties and resulting in sweeping voter apathy. Further research should continue to monitor this phenomenon in other areas of the country, and in future elections.

Keywords: Donald Trump, political misinformation, 2020 election, 2024 election, The Big Lie, voter fraud, social media misinformation