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A viral rumor claimed James Talarico was in a psychiatric hospital. The evidence doesn’t hold up.

Poynter · Loreben Tuquero · last updated

Right-wing influencers pointed to a recorded phone call as proof. The hospital says Talarico was never a patient there.

Conservative influencers are sharing what they say is a phone call proving state Rep. James Talarico, the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Texas, was absent from the campaign trail because he was confined to a “mental hospital.”

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