With just hours left for the 2024 US Election Day, a new image is is doing the rounds on social media that claims that CNN broadcast a "key race alert" showing that U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris was ahead of former President Donald Trump by six points in Texas, a state that has traditionally been won by Republican presidential candidates.
Social media users have since been left confused, with many trying to find out the authenticity of the image. However, the image is fake and the claim is fabricated. Even CNN has confirmed that the image and the claim are fake and that it has not broadcast any such alert.
The Strange Claim
The image claimed that, with polls closed and a small percentage of votes counted, Harris was leading Trump 51.8% to 45.7%. It said that Harris received 1,113,499 votes while Trump had 982,091, giving Harris a lead of 121,408 votes.
However, the actual difference calculated from the displayed numbers would be 131,408 votes.
For example, one user on X shared the fake image on November 2, asking, "Are they planning on stealing Texas and its [sic] 40 electoral votes?"
Other users also started circulating the same image on Instagram, 4chan forums, Threads and X, as well as on websites in Korean and Vietnamese. It is still unclear who created the afke image that has now gone viral and is still being widely circulated.
Actor James Woods shared the fake image, 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." Actor Antonio Sabato Jr. also shared Woods' post.
CNN Confirms Image Is Fake
The CNN Communications (@CNNPR) account on X posted the image and confirmed that the graphic is fake. "This image is completely fabricated and manipulated and it never aired on any CNN platform."
Later the broadcast network shared another post from BBC Verify senior journalist Shayan Sardarizadeh (@Shayan86), who wrote of the image, "This fake screenshot of a CNN poll, which shows Kamala Harris ahead of Donald Trump by six points in Texas, has been viewed millions of times. CNN has no such poll from Texas and never aired those numbers. The image is doctored and the poll numbers are fake."
Another proof that the image was fake was the caption reading, "Polls Closed 9:00 ET." According to CBS News, "Polls in Texas close at 7 p.m. on November 5, except in El Paso, where they close at 7 p.m. MT, or 8 p.m. CT."
Hence, the image and the claim both are false.
