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Macron sues Candace Owens in Tennessee

· Fact-checked before it aired. Unconfirmed claims from this segment are not shown.

The post claims to describe a real news event — a Governor-elect named Gina Hinojosa in Texas proposing to freeze electricity rates. However, this claim does not appear to be true. Gina Hinojosa is a Democratic member of the Texas House of Representatives representing District 49 in Austin. She has served in the Texas House since 2016 and is a former Austin ISD school board president. She is not the governor of Texas, and she has not been elected governor in any election cycle. Texas's governor has been Republican Greg Abbott since 2015. The 2026 Texas gubernatorial election would have been held on November 3, 2026, but there is no publicly available evidence that Gina Hinojosa was a candidate for governor, let alone the winner. The post appears to either be a fabrication or a reference to

The post likely stems from confusion or deliberate mischaracterization. There has been discussion in Texas about electricity rates — Texas has faced high electricity prices during extreme weather, and there have been legislative proposals around rate reform. Gina Hinojosa has been an advocate on consumer protection issues in the Texas House. It is possible that a proposal she made in the legislature was mischaracterized as a "governor-elect" action. However, as of the post date, she is not the governor-elect.

French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte filed a new defamation lawsuit against podcaster Candace Owens on Nov. 4, 2026, in Tennessee federal court, after a Delaware judge dismissed Owens personally from an earlier case. The 400-plus-page complaint includes 88 counts related to her "Becoming Brigitte" podcast series.

There is no "Gov.-elect Gina Hinojosa" in Texas. Gina Hinojosa is a Democratic state representative from Austin, but she has not been elected governor. Texas's last governor was Greg Abbott, a Republican, and the 2026 Texas governor's race did not produce a Governor-elect Hinojosa. The claim appears to be fabricated or refers to something that di

Fact-check

VERIFIED TRUE

French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte filed a new defamation lawsuit against podcaster Candace Owens on Nov. 4, 2026, in Tennessee federal court, after a Delaware judge dismissed Owens personally from an earlier case. The 400-plus-page complaint includes 88 counts related to her "Becoming Brigitte" podcast series.

France's president and wife file new lawsuit against US podcaster Owens https://t.co/xOA4UalBc1

Original post · @Reuters

Reuters NAMES: Candace Owens = conservative US podcaster and right-wing influencer; the Tennessee case is Macron v. Owens, M.D. Tenn., No. 3:26-cv-01765 --- POS

VERIFIED FALSE

There is no "Gov.-elect Gina Hinojosa" in Texas. Gina Hinojosa is a Democratic state representative from Austin, but she has not been elected governor. Texas's last governor was Greg Abbott, a Republican, and the 2026 Texas governor's race did not produce a Governor-elect Hinojosa. The claim appears to be fabricated or refers to something that did not happen.

Could Texas electricity bills soon be frozen? Democratic Gov.-elect Gina Hinojosa says she plans to freeze residential electricity rates within her first hour in office, declaring a "high-cost emergency" to address rising costs. But the proposal is already raising questions https

Original post · Fox News (@FoxNews)

No credible source supports this claim. NAMES: Gina Hinojosa = Democratic state representative in the Texas House from Austin; Greg Abbott = Republican Governor

Sources

What the hosts said

BFrance's president just opened a new legal front in Tennessee, and it's not about trade.
BRight. Reuters posted on X that Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte filed a new defamation lawsuit against Candace Owens.
BNovember fourth, federal court in Tennessee. Four hundred pages, eighty-eight counts.
BAll tied to her 'Becoming Brigitte' podcast series.
BAnd this comes after a Delaware judge dismissed Owens personally from an earlier case.
BWhich is exactly why I think Macron is walking into a trap.
BHow is suing over false claims a trap?
BBecause now Candace Owens gets to play free-speech martyr for the next year.
BShe can play whatever she wants. The question is whether the claims are false and whether they did real damage.
BIn an American court, Macron is a public figure. He has to prove actual malice. That's a mountain.
BMaybe the mountain is the point. You send a signal that these attacks have consequences.
BOr you prove you're thin-skinned and give her millions in free attention.
BSo a world leader should just absorb endless conspiracies about his wife?
BNo, but I'd rather he spend political capital on Europe's actual crises than a Tennessee courtroom.
BHe can do more than one thing at a time. And eighty-eight counts is not a small filing.
BEighty-eight counts in a defamation case is often a sign of weakness, not strength.
BOr thoroughness. Let's see what the judge says.
BSpeaking of claims spreading without proof, Nathan Elledge posted on X something called a 'World Leaders Brief.'
BWhat's it say?
BEurope is mourning a Krakow attack, EU flags at half-mast. It also claims Modi has declared India Naxal-free.
BNo major newsroom is reporting any attack in Krakow right now.
BThe names are real—Zelensky, Erdogan, Aliyev—but the claims are a grab bag of unverified stuff.
BThat's the danger. It looks official because it uses hashtags and formal language.
BExactly. If there were a real attack in Krakow, we'd all be covering it. Nobody is reporting one.
BRight. A briefing with no source is not a briefing.
BHere's one from a major outlet that should know better.
BWhat happened?
BFox News posted on X that a Democratic Governor-elect in Texas is about to freeze electricity rates.
BGovernor-elect? Did I miss the entire Texas election?
BNo. Gina Hinojosa is a Democratic state representative from Austin. She is not the governor-elect.
BWait, Fox called her that?
BYes. The claim is false. Greg Abbott is still governor. There's no Governor-elect Hinojosa.
BHow does a newsroom get that wrong?
BThat's the question. Hinojosa has worked on consumer issues in the legislature, but she's a state rep, not the governor.
BCould there be a local proposal to freeze rates that got mislabeled?
BPossibly. But a freeze by a state rep isn't a governor-elect's first-hour plan.
BThis is exactly the kind of error that makes people distrust media.
BIt's a bad factual error, and Fox should correct it.
BNo argument. But one bad post from a major outlet doesn't mean everything is fake.
BI didn't say everything is fake. I said this one is false.
BFair. But when a big account gets the basics wrong, the damage is done.

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