Video does not show Kamala Harris adjusting ‘earphone earrings’ prior to presidential debate

15 October 2024
What was claimed

A video of Kamala Harris talking about a recipe shows her wearing the same earphone earrings she wore during the presidential debate with Donald Trump.

Our verdict

This isn’t what the video shows. It dates back to 2019, and in a longer, higher resolution clip Ms Harris can be seen adjusting her in-ear monitor at the request of someone off-screen, while explaining how to brine a turkey. She is also wearing different earrings to the ones she wore during the debate on 10 September.

A video is being shared online with false claims that it shows Kamala Harris wearing the “same” earphone earrings that she wore during the US presidential debate.

In the slightly blurry clip, the Democratic presidential candidate can be seen touching her right ear and speaking to someone off camera. Text over some versions of the video says: “BUSTED!! Those same earings she wore at the debate! Repost this and expose this cheating tramp! I KNEW IT!! [sic]”

The video has also been shared on TikTok, X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook with similar claims.

But the allegation that Ms Harris was wearing wireless earphones disguised as earrings isn’t true. This false claim originally began circulating following the 10 September debate, when people on social media claimed she was wearing earphone earrings. 

But as we wrote last month, there is no evidence Ms Harris wore earrings that contained earphones, and the close up pictures of Ms Harris during the debate show her earrings did not match the pair of ‘audio earrings’ she was accused of wearing.

The video now circulating with claims it shows Ms Harris wearing the same earrings is also misleading.

It comes from a behind-the-scenes moment shared on X before Kamala Harris was interviewed on Politics Nation on MSNBC on 24 November 2019, when she was vying to be the Democratic nominee before the 2020 presidential election. 

A side-by-side comparison of the stud earrings she is wearing in a longer, higher resolution version of the video with those of official pictures from the 2024 presidential debate shows clearly that they are not the same earrings.

Additionally, the video circulating on social media has been cropped, which has cut out visible wires and audio hardware around her chair, which Ms Harris also picks up and adjusts during the longer clip, in which she talks about a recipe for cooking a turkey.

At the request of someone off-screen, she can be seen adjusting her in-ear monitor for the broadcast.  

In the official video, it is clear that Ms Harris is being interviewed remotely by host Al Sharpton and is wearing an in-ear monitor to hear his questions, while a microphone on her lapel picks up her answers.

Ahead of the November presidential election we have debunked a number of misleading posts online, including a false claim that a Kamala Harris campaign advert depicted a mother who wished she had an abortion and a faked image of her supposed Russian communist party membership card.

Before sharing media online it’s important to consider whether what you are seeing is genuine, and accurate. Our guides to identifying misleading images and videos can help you do this.

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