2024-09-12 11:25:02
Topline
Far-right figures on social media spread baseless claims suggesting Vice President Kamala Harris used audio earrings to gain an upper hand in her debate against former President Donald Trump, though the unbacked claims do not consider the differences between the earrings worn by Harris on debate night and the audio earrings she has been accused of wearing.
Harris listens to Trump during Tuesday’s debate. (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
Key Facts
Far-right media personality Laura Loomer was one of the users pushing the viral claim, posting on X, formerly known as Twitter, after the debate a side-by-side photo of Harris and a screenshot of a Tom’s Guide article about the Nova H1 Audio Earrings, which feature wireless earphones embedded in freshwater pearl earrings, according to their developers’ website—the post had been viewed nearly 4 million times as of Wednesday evening.
Trump senior adviser Jason Miller retweeted an article in which Icebach Sound Solutions, the developers of the audio earrings, said the resemblance between their audio earrings and Harris’ earrings “is striking,” accompanying the repost with the eyes emoji, which can be used to express intrigue or skepticism, while several other prominent accounts also spread unfounded claims about the earrings.
Harris appeared to be wearing Tiffany & Co.’s South Sea Pearl Earrings, which each feature a pearl placed atop and slightly between two gold rods, based on photos from a blog known as What Kamala Wore, which notes the earrings are not available online.
The Nova H1 Audio Earrings do not have double rods, instead featuring a singular clip design for users’ ear lobes.
Malte Iversen, managing director at Icebach Sound Solutions, told Forbes the company had no knowledge about what earrings Harris wore during the debate.
The Harris campaign declined to comment and representatives for Tiffany and ABC News did not immediately respond to Forbes’ inquiry.
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Surprising Fact
Harris could be seen wearing the same earrings during a 9/11 remembrance ceremony Wednesday morning and appears to have worn them on other occasions, including at a rally in Wayne, Michigan, last month and an NCAA championship teams celebration in July.
News Peg
Trump during an interview with Fox News accused Harris of having access to the debate questions ahead of time, saying ABC News, the network that hosted the debate, had a “rigged show with somebody that maybe even had the answers.” He provided no evidence to back up the claim and the debate rules specified that “No topics or questions will be shared in advance with campaigns or candidates.”
Tangent
Election betting odds largely swayed in favor of Harris following the debate, with bookmakers predicting the vice president has a 51.8% chance of winning the election over Trump (46.9%), according to the Election Betting Odds tracker. Trump held a lead in betting odds heading into the debate.
Key Background
The debate between Trump and Harris was seen as one of the most consequential days of the election cycle, as polling showed the candidates entered the debate in a tight race. Harris experienced a surge in polling momentum in recent weeks that plateaued before the debate, resulting in a one-point lead over Trump (49% to 48%) heading into the debate, according to an NPR/PBS News/Marist survey. Pundits after the debate largely either praised the vice president’s performance or critiqued Trump’s for allowing Harris to bait him into off-topic tangents, according to The New York Times. Trump said in an interview with “Fox & Friends” the debate “was three on one,” a criticism likely referring to the real-time fact-checks he experienced during the event. The former president also characterized ABC as “the most dishonest news organization,” echoing criticisms of ABC he lobbed heading into the event. One of the most eye-catching fact checks against Trump was delivered after he pushed a false viral claim that immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, are eating residents’ cats and dogs. Debate moderator David Muir cited Springfield officials who told ABC News they received no credible reports of immigrants eating pets in the area, to which Trump claimed he saw “people on television” who said their pet was used for food.
Further Reading
‘They’re Eating The Dogs’ And ‘Worst’ Inflation: Key Fact-Checks From The Presidential Debate (Forbes)
Harris Surges Past Trump In Election Betting Markets After First Presidential Debate (Forbes)
