A Conspiracy Theory About QR Codes Has Led to Chaos Ahead of Georgia’s Midterms
Key takeaways
- In Georgia, he claimed that the use of QR codes on ballots could rig elections.
- “It's a complete red herring, but it's being used to symbolize a fear of election fraud,” Sara Tindall Ghazal, a member of Georgia’s State Election Board, tells WIRED.
- Now, with six months to go to the midterms elections, lawmakers in Georgia have failed to approve a system to replace the QR codes.
Why this matters: a development in AI with implications for how people work, create, and decide.
PHOTO-ILLUSTRATION: ANJALI NAIR; GETTY IMAGESComment Loader Save Story Save this story Comment Loader Save Story Save this story QR codes are at the center of the latest conspiracy theory in Georgia’s elections. And it’s largely thanks to Garland Favorito, a man who has spent decades trying to get people to listen to his conspiracy theories about insecure voting machines being used to rig elections in Georgia.
When Georgia became the epicenter of election denial conspiracy theories in 2020, Favorito became an overnight superstar in the election denial community, and an integral part of the vast network of groups across the country that sprang up to promote the baseless claim that US elections are rigged. In Georgia, he claimed that the use of QR codes on ballots could rig elections. In 2024, the state legislature approved a bill banning their use.
“It's a complete red herring, but it's being used to symbolize a fear of election fraud,” Sara Tindall Ghazal, a member of Georgia’s State Election Board, tells WIRED. “The folks who are desperate to remove the QR codes think that our elections are vulnerable, that they're being hacked or being rigged, that fraud is rampant and widespread.”