Last month, the tea party-affiliated political group FreedomWorks sought to drive social media users to a website peddling unsubstantiated fears of mail-in voting.

To lend an air of authenticity to its message, FreedomWorks posted a photograph of National Basketball Association superstar LeBron James. FreedomWorks included a misleading quote from James that suggested that when he condemned polling place closures as "systemic racism and oppression," he opposed mail-in voting.