Someone (Russia?) is circulating a rumor that the Buttiegieg campaign paid $40k for the Iowa Democratic Party’s app that failed. AP fact-checkers say, “no.”
CLAIM: Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg’s campaign funded the creation of the app that was used to tally votes during the Iowa Caucus.
AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. Buttigieg’s campaign paid the company that created the app that failed during the Iowa Caucus for different technology services.
THE FACTS: Social media posts are claiming that Buttigieg’s campaign either funded or created the app used during the Iowa Caucus that was the cause of major delay in voting results.
Buttigieg’s campaign paid Shadow Inc., the company behind the Iowa Caucus app, $42,500 in July for text messaging software, campaign finance records show. The software was not related to that developed for the Iowa Caucus.
In addition, the Buttigieg campaign did not help develop the app used in Iowa, a campaign spokesman confirmed Tuesday to the AP.