Millions of people have seen X posts claiming the presidential election is being stolen in Texas. The evidence? An image that appears to be from CNN showing a “Key Race Alert” for Texas with Vice President Kamala Harris leading former President Donald Trump by 6 points.
“Are they planning on stealing Texas and it’s 40 electoral votes?” one verified user said in a Nov. 2 post that had more than 4.2 million views as of Nov. 4.
“Hey Texas, looks like they are stealing your election,” another verified user said Nov. 3 in a post that had 4.5 million views as of Nov. 4.
Actor James Wood reposted the graphic Nov. 3 on X, writing, “Funny how they can tabulate votes to influence an election before Election Day, but can’t get a total for WEEKS in states they are losing after Election Day.”
(Not knowing the election results on election night is not evidence of fraud and is normal.)
The image being shared shows Harris ahead of Trump by more than 120,000 votes. On the bottom right corner, a graphic says the results account for 16% of the estimated vote. On the bottom left corner a graphic says: “Polls closed 9:00 ET.”
But the graphic is fake. The two X posts sharing the graphic have community notes debunking the image.
“This image is completely fabricated and manipulated and it never aired on any CNN platform,” CNN said in a Nov. 4 statement on X.
There are currently no voting results for Texas because voting has not ended in the state. And the polls closing time on the photo also is incorrect.
“Election results cannot be released until 7 p.m. local time when polls close,” Alicia Pierce, Texas assistant secretary of state for communications, told PolitiFact in a statement. “At that point, counties will start reporting early voting totals and additional results will come in through the evening.”
We rate claims that an image shows CNN reporting that Harris has more votes than Trump in Texas Pants on Fire!
Truth-o-meter Ruling
IF YOUR TIME IS SHORT
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An image that appears to show CNN reporting that Vice President Kamala Harris is leading former President Donald Trump in Texas by six points was "fabricated and manipulated," the network said in a statement.
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Texas election results will not be available until after 7 p.m. local time on Nov. 5 when polls close in the state.
Statement
Context
a post on XSpeaker/Target
Statement Date
Our Sources
PolitiFact, Not knowing all the results on election night is normal. Here's why., Oct. 30, 2024
CNN Communications, post, Nov. 4, 2024
Texas secretary of state, Election Results, accessed Nov. 4, 2024
Snopes, CNN Calls Out Fake Graphic Showing Harris Leading Trump by 6 Points in Texas, Nov. 4, 2024
Alicia Pierce, Texas assistant secretary of state for communications, statement, Nov. 4, 2024
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