- Increases the fake news about Kamala Harris in circulation
The Democrats are sending her against Donald Trump: Kamala Harris is set to become the first US President. A wave of disinformation has emerged around her candidacy. These false claims are circulating on social networks:
Claim: Harris wants to reduce the US population.
False. US Vice President Harris speaks at Coppin State University in Baltimore (Maryland) in July 2023 about climate protection. She slips up and says "population" instead of "pollution". This is evident from the official transcript of the White House, where the error is corrected: "population" is crossed out and "pollution" is added in square brackets.
The context of the speech also makes the correct interpretation clear. Harris explicitly speaks about reducing pollution in two other places. In the paragraph before the slip, she clearly talks about economic measures to reduce emissions. She also says that greenhouse gas emissions should be halved by 2030. A spokesperson for the White House also confirmed to US fact-checkers in July 2023 that it was a slip of the tongue. Harris meant "pollution".
Claim: A widely circulated photo shows Harris with Jeffrey Epstein.
False. The photo has been manipulated. A reverse image search reveals the original in the Getty Images database. It was taken on September 17, 2015, at an event in Los Angeles and shows Harris with her husband Douglas Emhoff. Jeffrey Epstein is not in the photo. His head was added to the photo. The original photo can also be found: it is a police photo taken in 2006.
Epstein was a US multimillionaire convicted of child abuse. He was also accused of building a sex network. He died in his New York cell in 2019. The case attracted worldwide attention because the entrepreneur was well-connected in the highest circles. His relationships with celebrities and his death led to numerous rumors and conspiracy theories. Epstein liked to be seen in public with stars and had contacts with former US presidents Donald Trump and Bill Clinton, among others.
Claim: Harris speaks gibberish in a speech.
False. A video is circulating on social networks in which Harris appears to be confused and speaks words that she did not say. She supposedly announces: "Today is today. And yesterday was yesterday today. Tomorrow will be tomorrow today..." However, this is a manipulated clip. The original video was broadcast by a non-profit organization for the right to abortion on April 26, 2023, on Facebook. It shows an event at Howard University in the US capital Washington the day before, where Harris is speaking.
A comparison of Harris' gestures and those of the audience reveals that the clip used for distribution is a section of this speech from minute 61:02. The sound has been altered. In reality, Harris says something different at this point and speaks about leadership personalities and "where we stand in history". The alleged "Today is today" quote also does not appear in the official White House transcript.
Incorrect. A person's parental heritage is irrelevant to the office of the U.S. President. The Constitution sets forth only three requirements: candidates must be natural-born U.S. citizens, at least 35 years old, and have lived in the U.S. for at least 14 years. Vice President Harris meets these three criteria: she was born on October 20, 1964, in Oakland, California. The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution grants citizenship to all individuals born in the United States.
After completing her studies, Harris became the first black district attorney of San Francisco and later the first attorney general of California. She is the first woman and the first black person to hold the office of U.S. Vice President. Her father immigrated to the U.S. from Jamaica to study economics. Her mother, a cancer researcher and civil rights activist, came from India and met Harris' father in the U.S. in the 1960s.
U.S. Government Biography of Kamala HarrisPolice photo of Epstein from ImagoOfficial transcript of Harris' speech from July 2023Fact-check by "Lead Stories" with speaker's statementU.S. Constitution on presidential candidate requirementsOfficial transcript of Harris' speech from April 2023U.S. Government on qualificationsU.S. Senate on the 14th AmendmentOriginal photo in Getty Images databaseOriginal video of Harris' speech on FacebookLaw text on citizenship by birth
The US Vice President Kamala Harris, in her July 2023 speech at Coppin State University, incorrectly used the term "population" instead of "pollution" while discussing climate protection, but she intended to say "pollution." The miscommunication was clarified in the official White House transcript.
Despite false claims suggesting otherwise, the US population data is not being manipulated or used to reduce the US population by Vice President Harris or her administration.
