A fabricated CNN election graphic showing false pre-election results for Texas was spread across social media platforms, fueling claims of election fraud and undermining trust in the electoral process.
On November 2, 2024, a fake image purporting to show a CNN 'key race alert' with Texas election results began circulating on social media platforms including X, Instagram, and Threads. The fabricated graphic showed Kamala Harris leading Donald Trump 51.8% to 45.7% with 16% of votes counted and polls closed, despite the fact that Election Day had not yet occurred and polls had not opened. The image spread widely on Elon Musk's X platform, particularly in the 'Election Integrity Community' created to share potential voter fraud incidents. CNN's senior vice president of communications Emily Kuhn confirmed the image was completely fabricated and never aired on any CNN platform. The fake graphic contained several technical errors including incorrect arithmetic in vote tallies and design elements that did not match CNN's actual broadcast graphics from previous elections. The original poster continued to claim the image was authentic despite CNN's denial, and the misinformation was amplified by high-profile accounts including actor James Woods. The incident occurred before Texas polls opened on November 5, 2024, which run from 7 AM to 7 PM local time.
Domain classification, causal taxonomy, severity scores, and national security assessments were LLM-classified and may contain errors.
Using AI systems to conduct large-scale disinformation campaigns, malicious surveillance, or targeted and sophisticated automated censorship and propaganda, with the aim of manipulating political processes, public opinion, and behavior.
Human
Due to a decision or action made by humans
Intentional
Due to an expected outcome from pursuing a goal
Pre-deployment
Occurring before the AI is deployed