Dominion and Smartmatic “have closed up shop” and executives are “on the run.”
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Dominion and Smartmatic haven’t shut down, and its executives aren’t 'on the run'
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• Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic haven’t shut down. Employees have been working from home, partly due to the pandemic.
• Dominion Voting Systems said its workers have been encouraged to work remotely and protect their social media accounts due to persistent threats and harassment after conspiracy theories circulated.
• There is no evidence that executives are suspected of crimes or are "on the run."
Conspiracy theories continue to swirl around Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic, two voting technology companies.
A social media post is now claiming the two companies have stopped doing business, and that their executives are evading law enforcement.
"Dominion and Smartmatic have closed up shop all around the world and all execs have gone on the run. What does that tell you???" a Nov. 21 Facebook post read.
This post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)
PolitiFact has debunked several claims about Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic in the past month as President Donald Trump and his supporters continue to promote conspiracy theories around the companies that make voting machines and software.
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Both Smartmatic and Dominion Voting Systems have their websites or pages dedicated to debunking false rumors as they emerge.
Dominion’s site says: "Dominion is not shuttering its offices. Employees have been encouraged to work remotely and protect their social media profiles due to persistent harassment and threats against personal safety."
A Dominion spokesperson declined to comment further on personnel matters. The company said in a statement that employees are working with law enforcement and taking other measures "to ensure the safety of our employees."
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A Smartmatic spokesperson also told PolitiFact it has not shut down. "Smartmatic has not closed any offices following the US election," Smartmatic said in a statement. "We continue to operate in our offices around the world, although we already have many employees working from home (since March) as a result of the pandemic."
There are no reports or evidence that the companies’ executives are suspected of any crime or are "on the run."
We rate this claim False.
This fact check is available at IFCN’s 2020 US Elections FactChat #Chatbot on WhatsApp. Click here, for more.
Our Sources
Facebook post, Nov. 21, 2020
ABC News, "Dominion employees latest to face threats, harassment in wake of Trump conspiracy," accessed Nov. 22, 2020
Dominion Voting Systems, "Election 2020: Setting the Record Straight," accessed Nov. 22, 2020
PolitiFact, "No evidence Dominion Voting Systems caused widespread tabulation errors that flipped votes for Biden," accessed Nov. 22, 2020
PolitiFact, "Fact-checking false claims about the 2020 election," accessed Nov. 22, 2020
PolitiFact, "Inaccurate early vote count in one Michigan county was a human error, not a failure of the software," accessed Nov. 22, 2020
PolitiFact, "Trump lawyer falsely claims voting technology companies were created for changing election results," accessed Nov. 22, 2020
PolitiFact, "Debunking the ‘Hammer and Scorecard’ conspiracy theory," accessed Nov. 22, 2020
Smartmatic, "Smartmatic Fact-checked," accessed Nov. 22, 2020
Smartmatic, "Smartmatic’s response to misinformation," accessed Nov. 22, 2020
Email, Dominion Voting Systems spokesperson, Nov. 23, 2020
Email, Smartmatic spokesperson, Nov. 23, 2020
Lead Stories, "Dominion and Smartmatic Have NOT Closed Up Shop; Execs Are NOT On the Run," accessed Nov. 24, 2020
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Dominion and Smartmatic haven’t shut down, and its executives aren’t 'on the run'
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