Voting machine software is 28% owned by the Venezuelan mafia.
Posted by Ask Dr. Drew, Checked
- Sources
- 3 contradict2 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 80%
Ask Dr. DrewOct 21, 2026
The claim that voting machine software is 28% owned by the Venezuelan mafia is a debunked allegation. AP and PolitiFact examined the 28% Venezuelan-ownership claim about Dominion and rejected it, and no source shows any Venezuelan mafia stake in voting software.
This claim is about the present, so it is judged as of the day it was checked.
What was said
… we have we've i spent two years out of the country working with this famous CIA guy, recruiting a bunch of Venezuelan defectors, recruiting people out of the Taiwanese factory. It turns out that not only does the software trace back to the Venezuelan cartel, it's literally 28% owned by the Venezuelan mafia, the car that what you're voting on. But even the hardware, which allegedly comes from Taiwan, the most important piece of the hardware is the motherboard. It's like the frontal lobe of your brain. …
Ask Dr. Drew · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Contradicts. AP rated the claim that the Chavez family owns 28% of Dominion Voting Systems false, noting Dominion has been majority-owned since 2018 by Staple Street Capital and has no ties to Venezuela.[1]
Contradicts. PolitiFact debunked claims that Dominion had ties to Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez and found no evidence that voting equipment was used to manipulate votes.[2]
Contradicts. Reuters reports that the Dominion and Smartmatic claims are debunked conspiracy theories, and its investigation found no proof that either company's technology was used to alter votes.[3]
Context. A 2004 Caracas Chronicles report found the Venezuelan government held a 28% stake in Bizta Corp., a ballot software firm. This is a government stake in a different company from the alleged mafia ownership, and it does not show mafia ownership of voting software.[4]
Context. Smartmatic's Venezuelan ownership was historically obscured by holding companies, per a US State Department statement cited on Wikipedia. This concerns ownership structure, not a 28% mafia stake.[5]
Sources
5 sources: 3 fact-checkers, 2 not rated
- 1Family of Hugo Chavez does not own Dominion Voting ...apnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: contradicts
- 2Dominion-Fox lawsuit: Looking back at false claims about ...politifact.com · fact-checker · cited for: contradicts
- 3How Trump's obsession with ‘rigged' voting machines spread across US governmentreuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: contradicts
- 4Another detail CNE forgot to disclose...caracaschronicles.com · not rated · cited for: context
- 5Smartmatic - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
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