Headline about Harris needing to steal election is fabricated | Fact check
The claim: Image shows headline from The Atlantic about how Kamala Harris 'may need to steal an election'
An Oct. 15 Instagram post (direct link, archive link) shows what appears to be a headline published by The Atlantic about Vice President Kamala Harris and the 2024 presidential election.
"To Save Democracy Harris May Need To Steal An Election," reads the purported headline.
A summary under the headline reads, "Constitutional scholars are already worrying about another January 6 crisis, and they warn that the next election might be harder to save."
A similar Facebook post was shared more than 200 times in a day before it was deleted.
More from the Fact-Check Team: How we pick and research claims | Email newsletter | Facebook page
Our rating: Altered
The image is a fabrication. The Atlantic said the headline is an altered version of a 2021 article titled "Kamala Harris Might Have to Stop the Steal."
Fabricated Atlantic headline spread following Harris endorsement
The Atlantic endorsed Harris, the Democratic nominee for president, in an Oct. 10 article, marking the magazine's fifth presidential endorsement since its founding in 1857. It endorsed Abraham Lincoln in 1860, Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964, Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Joe Biden in 2020.
But The Atlantic didn't publish a headline suggesting the survival of democracy in the U.S. could hinge on Harris committing election fraud.
Anna Bross, a spokesperson for The Atlantic, pointed to an Oct. 15 company statement that said the magazine has never published such a headline.
"The fake headline distorts an Atlantic article that was published on October 6, 2021, which ran under the headline 'Kamala Harris Might Have to Stop the Steal,'" the statement said.
Fact check: Altered image misrepresents Trump post about Iran
That 2021 article includes the summary in the Instagram image, but it doesn't examine Harris stealing the 2024 election. Rather, it explores a hypothetical scenario in which Republicans aligned with former President Donald Trump try to undermine the upcoming Nov. 5 election, and how Harris, in her vice-presidential role overseeing the Electoral College count, might be able to stop them.
Since the article was published, Congress revised the 1887 Electoral Count Act to make it clear the vice president's role in the process is purely ceremonial. The reform, included in a spending bill Biden signed in December 2022, also raised the threshold of lawmakers needed to object to a slate of presidential electors, from one member of the Senate and House of Representatives to at least one-fifth of each chamber.
USA TODAY reached out to the Instagram and Facebook users who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive responses.
Our fact-check sources:
Anna Bross, Oct. 18, Email exchange with USA TODAY
The Atlantic, Oct. 15, Images Circulating of Fabricated Atlantic Headlines
The Atlantic, accessed Oct. 17, Search
The Atlantic, Oct. 6, 2021, Kamala Harris Might Have to Stop the Steal
Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or e-newspaper here.
USA TODAY is a verified signatory of the International Fact-Checking Network, which requires a demonstrated commitment to nonpartisanship, fairness and transparency. Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Meta.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Atlantic headline about Harris stealing election not real | Fact check