The internet is a toxic place – especially if you want to go to the White House like Kamala Harris. The most absurd rumors are circulating about the presidential candidate. A fact check.
Table of contents
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Claim: Kamala Harris wants to reduce the US population
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Claim: A photo shows Harris together with Jeffrey Epstein
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Claim: Harris only speaks absurd nonsense in a speech
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Claim: Harris is not allowed to run because of her parents’ origins
The Democrats are sending her into the race against Donald Trump: Kamala Harris wants to become the first female US president. A wave of disinformation has arisen around her candidacy. These fakes are circulating on social networks:
Claim: Kamala Harris wants to reduce the US population
Incorrect. US Vice President Harris speaks about climate protection at Coppin State University in Baltimore (US state of Maryland) in July 2023. She makes a slip of the tongue: instead of “pollution” she says “population”. This is clear from the official White House transcript, in which the correction of the error can be found: “population” is crossed out and “pollution” has been added in square brackets.
The correct reading is also clear from the context of the speech. In two other places, Harris explicitly speaks of reducing environmental pollution. The paragraph before the slip of the tongue is clearly about economic measures to reduce emissions. Harris says, among other things, that greenhouse gas emissions should be halved by 2030. A White House spokesman also confirmed to US fact checkers in July 2023 that it was a slip of the tongue. Harris meant “environmental pollution.”
Claim: A photo shows Harris together with Jeffrey Epstein
Incorrect. The photo has been manipulated. The original can be found in the Getty Images image database by doing a reverse image search. It was taken on September 17, 2015 at an event in Los Angeles and shows Harris with her husband Douglas Emhoff. US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein is not visible in it. This means that his head was mounted in the photo. The original photo can also be found here: it is a police photo taken in 2006.
Epstein was an American multimillionaire who was found guilty of child abuse. He was also accused of setting up a sex network. He died in his cell in New York in 2019. The case caused a stir worldwide because the businessman was connected to the highest circles. His relationships with celebrities and his death led to numerous rumors and conspiracy theories. Epstein liked to appear in public with stars and was in contact – at least temporarily – with former US presidents Donald Trump and Bill Clinton.
Claim: Harris only speaks absurd nonsense in a speech
Incorrect. A video is circulating on social networks in which a seemingly confused Harris is put into the mouth of words that she did not say. Translated, she allegedly 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 on Facebook by a nonprofit organization for abortion rights on April 26, 2023. It shows an event at Howard University in the US capital Washington the day before, at which Harris is speaking.
A comparison of the gestures of Harris and the audience reveals that an excerpt from this speech starting at minute 61:02 was used for the distributed clip. The audio was changed from the original. In reality, Harris says something different at that point and talks about leaders and “where we are in history”. The supposed “today is today” quote does not appear in the official White House transcript either.
Claim: Harris is not allowed to run because of her parents’ origins
Incorrect. The origin of the parents plays no role in the office of US President. The Constitution only stipulates three requirements: Candidates must be native-born US citizens, at least 35 years old and have lived in the USA for at least 14 years. US Vice President Harris meets these three criteria: She was born on October 20, 1964 in Oakland, California. The 14th Amendment to the US Constitution grants citizenship to all people born in the United States.
After graduating, Harris became the first black district attorney of San Francisco and later the first female attorney general in California. Harris is the first woman and the first black person to hold the office of Vice President of the United States. Her father immigrated to the United States from Jamaica to study economics. Her mother, a cancer researcher and civil rights activist, came from India and met Harris’ father in the United States in the 1960s.
