FACT CHECK: Trending Story That Clinton Won Just 57 Counties Is Untrue

Members of the audience hold signs that spell out "Florida" as Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks at a rally at Palm Beach State College in Lake Worth, Fla., Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2016. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

NEW YORK (AP) — A trending story that claims Hillary Clinton won a total of 57 counties in the presidential election is untrue.

The Associated Press finds that Clinton won 487 counties nationwide, compared with 2,626 for President-elect Donald Trump.

The story appeared on several viral content sites that cater to some of Trump’s supporters.

It also falsely claimed that Clinton outpaced Trump by more than 2 million votes in the five counties that comprise New York City, which the story said accounted for the entirety of her lead in the national popular vote. An AP count finds that Clinton beat Trump by roughly 1.5 million votes in New York City. Nationwide, Clinton holds a popular vote lead of more than 2 million.

The AP considers parishes in Louisiana as counties in election tallies. Washington, D.C., and Alaska have a single statewide reporting unit. Virginia’s count includes 95 counties and 38 independent cities.

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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  1. “57”. Where did they get the artbitrary number 57?

    Oh, yeah. The original Manchurian Candidate movie explains the origin of that number.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0WZwSx7UdU

    ETA: By the way, the “count the counties” logic is nonsense even if were true WHICH IT ISN’T.
    It’s like saying Hillary has 57 $5 bills but Trump has 4,700 pennies so Trump has more money.

  2. Avatar for 1gg 1gg says:

    She may not have won 57 counties but she is still ahead in the popular vote, so Trump does not get to drape the word mandate over his shoulders unless he is referring to Putin as his man date.

  3. Possibly a dog whistle for the Bundyites who claim that county sheriffs are the ultimate Constitutional authority. Or the ones who posit that a county with more gophers than people is the same thing as LA County.

  4. Maybe they meant “57 states?” Seems to be a popular phrase with the Right…

  5. An AP count finds that Clinton beat Trump by roughly 1.5 million votes in New York City. Nationwide, Clinton holds a popular vote lead of more than 2 million.

    This scares the shit out of me. How close was California?

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