Debunking Misconception: Univision challenges unfounded right-wing assertion revolving around Harris employing a teleprompter during town hall event
The bogus assertion garnered vast viewership on X, a social media platform that was once called Twitter. This falsehood was propagated by several influential right-wing personas with substantial followings, such as Benny Johnson, Charlie Kirk, Greg Price, and Fox News anchor Sean Hannity.
The moderator of the town hall, Enrique Acevedo, and the head of Univision News, Daniel Coronell, countered this claim in their individual posts on X. They pointed out that the teleprompter visible during the broadcast displayed text in Spanish, not English, and it was intended for Acevedo, not Harris.
In response to Johnson's allegation that "Univision accidentally aired proof that Kamala used a teleprompter at her town hall," Acevedo wrote: "The display showed my Spanish introduction and then switched to a timer. Any other claim is plainly false."
Regarding Price's assertion that "Kamala is utilizing a teleprompter during her 'town hall' with Univision," Coronell wrote: "This is untrue. The teleprompter displaying Spanish text was there to support the moderator's role. I can vouch for this fact, as I supervised the television program."
Acevedo and Coronell posted their rebuttals late on Thursday, but the allegedly inaccurate posts from Price, Johnson, and Kirk persisted online until 12 p.m. on Friday. Hannity, however, removed his post. CNN attempted to contact Price, Johnson, and Kirk for comments.
Teleprompter criticisms have become a recurring theme in Trump's recent attacks on Harris. Trump, who often uses teleprompters for his speeches and intersperses ad-libs, has baselessly insinuated that Harris lacks the ability to express herself coherently without written guidance. Last month, Trump defamed that Harris consulted notes during a televised interview with CNN.
The right-wing commentators' erroneous posts targeting Harris at the Univision town hall were inspired by a 12-second clip shared on Thursday by the Trump campaign's "Trump War Room" account. The campaign did not declare a specific accusation in its post; instead, it merely commented, "The teleprompter" and added an expressive eye emoji.
Their followers did the inevitable.
In the midst of this political controversy, the right-wing commentators' false claims about Kamala Harris using a teleprompter during the Univision town hall sparked intense debate. Acevedo and Coronell, determined to set the record straight, refuted these allegations on X.
Despite the moderator and head of Univision News debunking the claims, the misleading posts persisted among the commentators, fueling the ongoing politics surrounding Harris.
