Xavier Becerra California Governor Runoff: Viral Clip Falsely Claims He Secured Endorsement from Deceased Senator Dianne Feinstein
A video gaining traction on X (formerly Twitter) claims that California Attorney General Xavier Becerra has secured the endorsement of the late Senator Dianne Feinstein in the upcoming gubernatorial runoff election. The clip, which has been viewed over 2 million times in the last 24 hours, shows a manipulated audio track over a 2022 press conference. Fact-checkers from multiple outlets confirm the audio is fabricated. Feinstein passed away in September 2023 and never recorded a statement regarding the 2026 California governor race. The post has been flagged by platform moderators and tagged with a community note reading, "This is not authentic. Senator Feinstein has been deceased for over two years." The original account that shared the clip has a history of posting satirical content but did not label the video as a parody, leading to widespread confusion. Officials from the Becerra campaign have not commented on the hoax.