PolitiFact | Texas

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PolitiFact Texas is a partnership of the Austin American-Statesman, Houston Chronicle, the San Antonio News-Express to help you find the truth in Texas politics. PolitiFact Texas reporters and researchers examine statements by Texas elected officials and candidates and anyone else who speaks up on matters of public importance.

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Austin American-Statesman

True

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Mostly True

18%

Half True

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Mostly False

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False

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Pants on Fire

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All Fact-checks for Texas

Instagram posts

stated on November 13, 2022 in a post

Footage shows Dallas pollbooks fraudulently “adding hundreds of voters in real time as the poll was being closed.”

true

false

Instagram posts

stated on November 8, 2022 in a post

“Many elections in Bexar are being called with 0% of precincts reporting! I smell MAJOR FRAUD!”

true

false

Instagram posts

stated on November 8, 2022 in a post

Glitches with voting in Arizona, New Jersey and Texas are proof the election is rigged.

true

false

Instagram posts

stated on November 2, 2022 in a video

Video suggests GOP voters denied access in general election.

true

false

stated on October 2, 2022 in a Facebook post

In Texas, a person can register a dead relative to vote and then cast a mail ballot in their name.

true

barely-true

stated on August 31, 2022 in a campaign event

Three court rulings since May 2022 “have made it clear that it is unconstitutional to ban someone between the ages of 18 and 20 from being able to buy an AR.”

true

barely-true

stated on August 14, 2022 in a Facebook post

"FEC charges (Beto O'Rourke's 2018 campaign) Illegal Campaign Contributions."

true

barely-true

stated on August 11, 2022 in Facebook post

“With the combined salary of the 87,000 new IRS Agents ($81,456 average annual salary), you could put a police officer ($55,117) in every public school in the nation (97,568) and still have 31,007 police officers or $1,709,012,819 left over.”

true

barely-true

stated on June 27, 2022 in an Instagram post

"Under Abbott, Texas leads the nation in rape offenses while the rate of arrests for rape has fallen by nearly half."

true

mostly-true

stated on July 14, 2022 in a Facebook post

A “small area” in western Texas and southeastern New Mexico “has enough oil to fuel America for the next 200 years.”

true

false

stated on July 20, 2022 in an Instagram post

A Texas farmer was “arrested for using illegal immigrants for free labor by pretending to be Joe Biden.”

true

false

stated on May 29, 2022 in a tweet

"38,000 Texans had their license to carry denied, revoked, or suspended over the last five years because law enforcement deemed them too dangerous to carry a loaded gun in public. But thanks to Greg Abbott's new law, they don't need a license to carry anymore."

true

barely-true

stated on May 15, 2022 in a tweet

Texas' public high school graduation rate is at 90% overall.

true

true

stated on July 11, 2022 in a podcast

U.S. Rep. Mayra Flores is “the first Mexican-born member of Congress.”

true

false

stated on June 28, 2022 in Facebook post

This is the 911 call placed by the migrants trapped in the truck found in San Antonio.

true

false

stated on June 28, 2022 in Facebook post

Esta grabación muestra una llamada al 911 de los migrantes atrapados en un camión en San Antonio, Texas.

true

false

Instagram posts

stated on May 7, 2022 in an Instagram post

A Texas GOP lawmaker recently introduced a bill that would allow the death penalty for women who have an abortion.

true

mostly-true

stated on June 4, 2022 in a tweet

"The impact of President Biden being beholden to the Green New Deal radicals in his party has electricity costs through the roof in Texas."

true

false

stated on May 25, 2022 in a press conference

"We need to realize that people who think that ‘well, maybe if we could just implement tougher gun laws, it’s going to solve it,’ Chicago and LA and New York disprove that thesis."

true

barely-true

Instagram posts

stated on May 26, 2022 in a video on Instagram

Active shooter drill at high school in Uvalde, Texas, two months before the elementary school shooting shows the event was a false flag.

true

pants-fire

Texas organizers battle misinformation on encrypted messaging apps

Texas organizers battle misinformation on encrypted messaging apps

By Nusaiba Mizan • November 23, 2022

Is fentanyl the leading cause of death among American adults?

Is fentanyl the leading cause of death among American adults?

By Nusaiba Mizan • October 3, 2022

Border Patrol encounters up because high level of migrants seeking to cross border multiple times

Border Patrol encounters up because high level of migrants seeking to cross border multiple times

By Nusaiba Mizan • August 30, 2022

Why does federal law make it easier for 18-year-olds to buy AR-15s than handguns?

Why does federal law make it easier for 18-year-olds to buy AR-15s than handguns?

By Madison Czopek • July 1, 2022

Texas Republicans want a vote on 'Texas Independence.' But can Texas secede from the union?

Texas Republicans want a vote on 'Texas Independence.' But can Texas secede from the union?

By Nusaiba Mizan • June 27, 2022

How many mass shootings have occurred since Uvalde tragedy?

How many mass shootings have occurred since Uvalde tragedy?

By Nusaiba Mizan • June 10, 2022

Ask PolitiFact: What steps do election officials take to prevent fraud?

Ask PolitiFact: What steps do election officials take to prevent fraud?

By Amy Sherman • June 1, 2022

Fact-checking misinformation about the Uvalde school shooting

Fact-checking misinformation about the Uvalde school shooting

By Madison Czopek • May 27, 2022

Here’s how to avoid misinformation as you read about Uvalde and other mass shootings

Here’s how to avoid misinformation as you read about Uvalde and other mass shootings

By Bill McCarthy • May 25, 2022

Fact-checking Greg Abbott’s claims that Biden has ‘open border’ policies

Fact-checking Greg Abbott’s claims that Biden has ‘open border’ policies

By Nusaiba Mizan • April 26, 2022

Greg Abbott says he will transport immigrants arriving illegally at the border to DC. Is that legal?

Greg Abbott says he will transport immigrants arriving illegally at the border to DC. Is that legal?

By Amy Sherman • April 8, 2022

Fact-checking Ted Cruz's 'Real State of the Union'

Fact-checking Ted Cruz's 'Real State of the Union'

By Nusaiba Mizan • March 17, 2022

Why some voters faced challenges voting in the 2022 Texas primary

Why some voters faced challenges voting in the 2022 Texas primary

By Amy Sherman • March 4, 2022

2022 candidates use ads vowing to be tough on China, or attacking rivals as too soft on China

2022 candidates use ads vowing to be tough on China, or attacking rivals as too soft on China

By Tom Kertscher • March 3, 2022

What can the federal government do right now to protect voting rights before the 2022 midterms?

What can the federal government do right now to protect voting rights before the 2022 midterms?

By Amy Sherman • February 18, 2022

A look behind Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's data on southern African migrants

A look behind Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's data on southern African migrants

By Nusaiba Mizan • January 10, 2022

Fact-checking claims about Kyle Rittenhouse, shooter in Kenosha, Wis., protests

Fact-checking claims about Kyle Rittenhouse, shooter in Kenosha, Wis., protests

By Tom Kertscher • November 17, 2021

What Allen West got wrong about COVID-19 and treatments

What Allen West got wrong about COVID-19 and treatments

By Amy Sherman • October 12, 2021

What we know about images of Border Patrol and Haitian migrants

What we know about images of Border Patrol and Haitian migrants

By Amy Sherman • September 24, 2021

GOP governors answer Texas’ call to send forces to the border. But what is their role?

GOP governors answer Texas’ call to send forces to the border. But what is their role?

By Amy Sherman • July 2, 2021