Summary of Richard L. Hasen's Cheap Speech

Book excerpt: Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 The biggest distributor of election disinformation in the 2020 U. S. presidential election was not a group of Russian hackers, but President Donald Trump. He spread the Big Lie that he had won an election he had actually lost decisively to Joe Biden, and this led to the January 6, 2021, invasion of the U. Capitol and violent insurrection by Trump supporters. #2 Trump’s claims about voting and election fraud were rampant in the first half of 2020, and he made sure to share them on social media. However, these claims were proven false, and led to a blue shift in the reporting of results. #3 Trump continued to make false claims of voter fraud even after it was clear that Biden had won. He called the election rigged or stolen, and tried to get Republican state legislatures to select Trump electors. #4 Trump had a receptive audience. Right-wing personalities such as members of the president’s family were among the superspreaders, who shared a false narrative about election fraud costing Trump the presidency.