Plane Over Arizona Was Not Spying On the Arizona Recount

On May 2nd, the conspiracy theory website Creative Destruction Media reported that multiple sources had informed them of government surveillance in Phoenix. Specifically, they stated that an aircraft had been circling over the location of the Arizona 2020 election recount audit in late April. This initial article has since gained over 63,000 views, according to the website’s own metrics. 

The following day other articles began appearing on conspiracy theory-oriented websites, with the sites claiming that the plane was using surveillance tools on behalf of the “deep state.” Other articles claimed that the plane that orbited the site of the election recount could, “vacuum up cell phone transmissions.” 

Social media posts of these claims then started spreading, with the posts gaining hundreds of interactions.