Viral posts make unsubstantiated claims about Harris' earrings at the debate

This article is available in Spanish in El Tiempo Latino.

Summary

Social media posts have made baseless claims that Vice President Kamala Harris wore earrings equipped with audio devices to cheat during her debate with former President Donald Trump. Similar unsubstantiated claims circulated before or after debates with Trump's former political opponents in 2016 and 2020.

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Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump clashed during their first presidential debate in Philadelphia on Sept. 10. Before the debate, the candidates agreed to a set of rules, including no pre-written notes or props and no interaction with their staff during the two commercial breaks.

But social media baselessly claimed that Harris cheated by wearing earrings that contained headphones and suggested that her remarks and answers were leaked to her during the debate.

A September 10 Instagram post that received more than 39,000 likes stated, “The earbud earring Kamala appeared to be wearing was made in early 2023.” The post shows an image of an item touting “Nova H1 Audio Earrings.”

Another Instagram post reads: “CAUGHT! SHE WEARING EARRINGS WITH HEADPHONES.” The post shows photos of Harris' pearl earring and a similar but not identical earring identified in an ad as a Nova H1 audio earring.

The posts echo unsubstantiated claims made before or after the debates about Trump's former political opponents.

In September 2016, after the first debate between Trump and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the website Charisma News falsely claimed that close-up photos of Clinton's ear showed that she was wearing an earpiece or hearing aid. PolitiFact examined photos of her ear on the night of the debate that did not show a hearing aid, and a Clinton spokesperson told PolitiFact that she “was not wearing an earpiece.”

In September 2020, the Trump campaign claimed that former Vice President Joe Biden refused to consent to a pre-debate inspection of electronic earpieces, as we wrote at the time. Biden's deputy campaign manager Kate Bedingfield reportedly called the claim “absurd” And said“Of course he’s not wearing an earphone.”

After the debate on September 29, 2020, social media posts made baseless claims that images of Biden showed him wearing “a cable” on an earpiece. As we wrote, higher-resolution video of the debate showed that what the posts described as a “cable” was just a fold in Biden's shirt.

The New York Times wrote in 2020 about the “long history of conspiracy theories surrounding hidden earpieces.” The report described unsubstantiated claims that recur every election cycle about hidden electronic devices used by presidential candidates, dating back to 2000, when conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh said Democratic presidential candidate Al Gore used an earpiece to receive coaching on NBC's “Meet the Press” in 2000.

The Harris team declined to comment on the claim that the vice president wore earrings equipped with an audio device during the September 10 debate.

Some social media users have responded to the unsubstantiated claims about Harris' earrings. In the community notes of a Sept. 10 post on X, one reader wrote, “The rumors are unfounded, Harris was wearing Tiffany & Co. earrings that she has worn many times,” not Nova H1 Audio earrings.

In addition, on September 11, the website “What Kamala Wore,” which covers Harris' “fashion and style choices,” said that the vice president wore “her South Sea pearl earrings from the Tiffany Hardwear collection” to the debate. The article shows photos of the earrings Harris wore to the debate, which feature an open setting below the pearls, as opposed to the design of the Nova H1 audio earrings as seen on the manufacturer's website.

Editor's note: FactCheck.org is one of several organizations working with Facebook to debunk misinformation on social media. Our previous stories can be found here. Facebook has no control over our editorial content.

Sources

Fichera, Angelo. “No evidence Biden was ‘wired’ in debate.” FactCheck.org. September 30, 2020.

Fichera, Angelo, and Saranac Hale Spencer. “Baseless online claims against Biden ahead of first debate.” FactCheck.org. Updated October 1, 2020.

Hauari, Gabe. “Rules for tonight’s presidential debate on ABC: What you need to know about microphones, audience and more.” September 10, 2024.

Jacobson, Louis. “Claims that Hillary Clinton wore earpiece during debate don’t hold up.” PolitiFact. September 28, 2016.

Kelley, Susan. “Vice President Harris to Debate in Familiar Style.” What Kamala Wore. September 11, 2024.

Kiely, Eugene et al. “FactChecking the Harris-Trump Debate.” FactCheck.org. September 11, 2024.

Link, Devon. “Fact check: Claims that Joe Biden wore an earpiece at town hall and debate are false.” USA Today. Updated September 30, 2020.

Rivera, Madeleine (@madeleinerivera).”Biden's deputy campaign manager @KBeds responded today during a debate preview conference call: “This is completely absurd. Of course he is not wearing an earpiece and we never asked for recess.”“ Twitter. September 29, 2020.

Roose, Kevin. “The Long History of 'Hidden Earpiece' Conspiracy Theories.” New York Times. September 29, 2020.