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A Sept. 29 Instagram post (direct link, archive link) shows Vice President Kamala Harris describing a turkey recipe before suddenly touching her ear and saying, “Oh, yes, hi. Yes, I’m here. OK, I’m going to talk about the recipe while you check, is that OK?”
Text within the video says, “Busted!! Those same earings (sic) she wore at the debate!”
The post’s caption reads, “BREAKING. Kamala Harris has been exposed for her Bluetooth earrings.”
The post garnered more than 1,000 likes in nine days. Other versions of the claim were shared on Instagram and X, formerly Twitter.
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The original video shows Harris listening through an earpiece and speaking into a microphone; there’s no evidence the video shows Bluetooth earrings. She was wearing different jewelry than what she wore at the debate, but those weren’t Bluetooth earrings, either.
Some social media users falsely claimed Harris wore earrings that were in-ear transmitters to give her an advantage during her Sept. 10 presidential debate against former President Donald Trump. But those were Tiffany & Co. earrings she had worn to previous events.This post is equally wrong on the nature of her earrings.
The original video was shared by MSNBC anchor Jonathan Capehart on X in 2019 and shows Harris chatting with Capehart about a recipe while wearing an earpiece to prepare for an on-camera interview. She is clearly wearing a microphone on her lapel. The longer, zoomed-out footage shows Harris picking up an electronic control box from the table after speaking into the microphone and listening through the earpiece. Wires run from the controller up Harris’ chair.
The vice president’s earrings in the video are clearly different from the pearl ones she wore during the debate, as well as the Nova audio earrings users falsely claimed she was wearing at the debate.
Fact check: No those weren’t transmitters in Kamala Harris’ ears during debate
USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response. Representatives for Harris declined to comment.
Reuters and PolitiFact also debunked the claim.
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