**Elon Musk Propagates Inaccurate Election Day Assertion Concerning Google, Subsequently Clarifies**

On Election Day, Elon Musk, the proprietor of X (previously Twitter) and a well-known supporter of Donald Trump, disseminated a deceptive post implying that Google was preferentially assisting Kamala Harris voters in locating polling places, while supposedly neglecting Trump voters. This assertion was swiftly refuted.

Around 3 p.m. EST on Tuesday, Musk shared a conspiracy theory from X user DogeDesigner, claiming inaccurately that Google was offering a “Where to Vote” feature for Kamala Harris but not for Donald Trump. The post insinuated that Google was granting Harris an unjust advantage, referencing the company’s purported political bias.

DogeDesigner’s post claimed, “Google displays a ‘Where to Vote’ section featuring a map for Kamala Harris, but not for Donald Trump. Google is the largest corporate contributor to the Democratic Party.” Musk shared this with his 203 million followers, inquiring, “Are others seeing this too?”

Nonetheless, the assertion stemmed from a misunderstanding. Google’s “Where to Vote” feature provides voting details based on geographic areas, like counties, rather than specific candidates. In this instance, the search results pertained to Harris County, which is located in both Texas and Georgia, and not Kamala Harris, the Vice President.

A Community Note was appended to DogeDesigner’s post, clarifying the misunderstanding: “The search query functions because Harris is a county in Texas.” Other counties with names resembling surnames, such as Clark, Clinton, and Franklin, are also searchable using Google’s voting tool.

Google’s official X account also replied, elucidating the matter. Musk later reshared Google’s clarification around 4 p.m. EST, writing, “Thanks for the clarification.” However, his initial repost of the erroneous claim stayed on his account.

This occurrence underscores the persistent dissemination of misinformation during the 2024 election cycle. Erroneous claims, conspiracy theories, and political deepfakes have been broadly circulated on social media platforms, making it challenging for voters to distinguish fact from fiction. Mere days before the election, the FBI issued a warning urging voters to obtain information from reliable sources, like their local election offices.

To uncover trustworthy election information, voters can utilize tools such as the U.S. government’s [search tool](https://www.usa.gov/state-election-office) to find their local election office. Moreover, the National Association of Secretaries of State’s #TrustedInfo2024 campaign offers a [compilation of official links](https://www.nass.org/initiatives/trustedinfo) to assist voters in accessing accurate details about the election process.

For real-time fact-checking, voters can refer to reliable outlets like [FactCheck.org](http://Fact.check.org), [Politifact](https://www.politifact.com/), [The Washington Post’s Fact Checker](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/fact-checker/), [Snopes](https://www.snopes.com/), and [NewsGuard’s Election Misinformation Monitoring Center](https://www.newsguardtech.com/special-reports/2024-elections-misinformation-tracker/). These resources can aid voters in verifying claims and steering clear of misinformation.