CNN Reporter Repeats Questionable Claim That Critical Race Theory Is Not Being Taught In Virginia Schools

CNN reporter Eva McKend repeated a questionable claim about critical race theory, Fox News reports.

McKend said critical race theory (CRT) was not being taught in Virginia’s public schools.

However, the phrase appears multiple times on the Virginia Department of Education website.

There are also a number of instances of its promotion by officials in the state, Fox News reports.

Republican businessman Glenn Youngkin delivered a victory speech after his win over Democrat Terry McAuliffe, which triggered the comment by McKend.

“Republicans who have long felt as though the governor’s mansion was out of reach, just elated tonight,” McKend said.

“I do think that it’s worth noting, though, that in the last several weeks, this issue of critical race theory, even though it is not being taught in Virginia public schools, it became so core in this race,” McKend added.

“And Youngkin mentioned it in every stump speech. It was his loudest applause line, that he was going to ban it, even though it was not being taught in Virginia public schools.”

Watch the clip:

Despite Youngkin winning independents by 9 points (a 28-point swing from Biden), CNN's Eva McKend suggests he only appealed to Republicans and repeated the lie that Critical Race Theory was not being taught in Virginia schools. pic.twitter.com/qqrXAxywUm

— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) November 3, 2021

“But he didn’t mention it tonight. He didn’t mention CRT or Dr. King, only a mention of charter schools,” she said.

“Surprising, because it was an issue that he used in recent weeks to really rally people and turn out voters, but it wasn’t mentioned this evening in his victory speech,” she said.

More from Fox News:

Despite the claim, there have been a number of well-documented instances of CRT’s promotion within the state, including a presentation that appeared to be sponsored by the Virginia Department of Education in 2015.

In 2019, a memo sent by a superintendent promoted CRT and the idea of “White fragility,” while another endorsed “Foundations of Critical Race Theory in Education” as an important “tool” that can “further spur developments in education.”

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This year, education officials in Loudoun County, Virginia, acknowledged that critical race theory influences their work. It was also revealed that a Virginia school district spent over $30,000 on critical race theory training for administrators.

Pundits and the media have largely relied on an “incredibly limited definition” of CRT, media watchdog NewsBusters argued, one that focuses on “a high-level study examining the intersection between race and other cultural forces.”