James Talarico, the Texas Democratic Senate candidate, returned to the campaign trail on Friday after a recent absence sparked online conspiracy theories.
Before Friday, Talarico had last been seen in public on Sept. 26. Days later, he attended a campaign event virtually before disappearing from the trail altogether and reappearing Friday.
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With his return came new claims that Talarico had been gone from the state because he was seeking treatment from a mental health institution. The claims, according to Talarico and the psychiatric institution allegedly involved, were false.
The conspiracy theory highlighted the high stakes in the Texas Senate race, in which Talarico faces Republican Ken Paxton. Polls show Talarico and Paxton in a dead heat, and the outcome is key to determining which party controls the Senate.
Here’s how the rumor about Talarico started and spread — and how it lives on even after it was refuted:
Rumors swirl on X
Days after Talarico returned to the campaign trail, right-wing commentators took to X and shared posts claiming Talarico had received treatment at the Lindner Center of Hope in Mason, Ohio.
Caroline Wren, a Republican fundraiser, shared a post detailing a private jet flight between Texas and Ohio.
Meanwhile, right-wing commentator Nick Sortor — whose X bio says he covers stories the so-called mainstream media won’t — shared what he claimed to be a voice recording from a hospital employee who said Talarico received treatment at the facility but was later discharged.
“While I sympathize with those dealing with mental health crises, this man is CLEARLY not suited to become a US Senator representing over 30 MILLION TEXANS,” Sortor wrote. “This job doesn’t get easier after being elected — it only gets MORE stressful. And Talarico clearly can’t handle it.”
https://x.com/nicksortor/status/2109329520247660715
Is AI involved?
As AI increasingly seeps into this year’s midterm elections, some users claimed the voice recording that Sortor shared was generated by artificial intelligence.
On X, a user who frequently shares anti-MAGA posts, reported Sunday that “two independent open-source AI-voice deepfake detectors” determined Sortor’s recording was AI-generated.
Adding to the intrigue, X suspended that account — apparently for impersonating another account holder — but reactivated it about 12 hours later.
The user claimed, without evidence, that the suspension stemmed from the posts about Talarico.
Dual denials
Late Sunday, Lindner Center of Hope posted an unequivocal statement on X: “Representative James Talarico has never received treatment from Lindner Center of Hope.”
Talarico shared the post, adding, “I have never even been to Ohio.”
Those denials didn’t put the matter to rest, however.
Megyn Kelly, the conservative podcaster, asked the Lindner Center to “clarify” its statement by addressing whether Talarico had “been to your facility at all in the last 9 days” and whether the person who said he had been treated there “had been mistaken” — notwithstanding the finding that the recording was AI-generated.
Sortor posted Sunday night that “more recordings from the Lindner Hope Center are about to drop in the morning.”
By Monday morning, however, he had moved on to another story: federal agents’ search of the home of Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn.
“LET’S GO!” he wrote, adding, “Time to send her back to Somalia!”
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