Janice R. Andrews
The Claim: During the first presidential discussion of the 2024 election season, Kamala Harris wore “audio earrings” to get help.
It was said in a widely shared Facebook post on September 10 that Vice President Kamala Harris wore earrings with built-in cell phones during her first discussion against former President Donald Trump. The post, which has pictures of Harris next to a pair of headphones that can broadcast sound, makes it look like she was being taught during the debate. This claim quickly spread on social media sites. For example, similar claims were made on X (formerly known as Twitter), which got tens of thousands of responses.
“Our Verdict” is “False.” The claim that Harris wore earrings with microphones during the debate is not backed up by any solid proof.
There is no proof that Harris’ earrings contain wireless communication devices.
On September 10, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump had a heated discussion that lasted more than 90 minutes. They talked about important policy problems and sharply criticized each other. But the idea that Harris wore earrings that could pick up sound during the debate is not true. Even though it got a lot of attention, there is no solid proof that her ears had any wireless communication or audio emitters built in.
Pictures from the debate show that Harris wore big pearl earrings with two gold stalks that went around her ears in a “J” shape. A reporter who was keeping track of the vice president’s wardrobe choices found that the earrings were an old Tiffany & Co. style that looked a lot like earrings from the jewelry store’s HardWear line. Even though the earrings look great, they don’t match the description of the supposedly “audio earrings” in the popular post.
There are some big changes between Harris’ ears and the Nova H1 Audio ears from Icebach Sound Solutions that were mentioned in the viral claim. The Nova H1 earrings have a smaller hinge radius and only one stalk, which are different from the earrings Harris wore during the debate.
The “Audio Earring” Story Is Not True
Even though Harris’ dress decisions were broken down in great detail, the fake story spread a lot on social media. The “evidence” in these posts that went popular was pictures of Harris wearing the same earrings at other public events. Meanwhile, Harris was seen in pictures wearing the same style of earrings before the debate, when using an earpiece wouldn’t have helped.
The website’s creator, Susan Kelley, said the claim was not true, saying, “Last night, there was a strange story going around that the vice president wore earrings with an audio receiver.” The fact that she has been wearing the same Tiffany earrings for months makes it clear that wasn’t the case.
The post claimed that Harris was being taught during the debate, but it missed an important fact: debate rules say that debaters can’t use any devices to talk to people offstage. If anyone broke this rule, the leaders of the conversation would know right away and take action.
Additionally, Icebach Sound Solutions, the business that creates the Nova H1 Audio Earrings, has stated that the earrings are not for sale at this time. CEO of Icebach Malte Iversen told USA TODAY that the company is working to add more workers but doesn’t have any stock yet. Since going bankrupt in 2023, the Nova company hasn’t given any details.
As a jokey reaction to all the attention, Icebach added a funny ad to its website for a “Special Edition for Presidential Debates—soon to be available to everyone.”
A Well-Known Conspiracy
This claim sounds a lot like a conspiracy theory that went around during the 2020 election. At the time, it was said that President Joe Biden wore an earpiece to a town hall meeting and a wire during a presidential discussion, which was not true. Even though these claims were completely disproved, they keep coming up in the current political environment.
Conclusion of the Fact Check
The widely spread rumor that Kamala Harris wore earrings with microphones built into them during the Sept. 10 presidential debate is not true at all. The post talks about portable audio earrings, but her earrings, a pair of pearls that are said to be a retired Tiffany & Co. design, look nothing like those. Also, discussion rules say that these kinds of gadgets are not allowed, and there is no proof that Harris broke these rules.
This kind of false information is part of a larger trend that includes false information about past elections. Voters should only believe claims about politicians and political events that come from reliable sources that have been checked for accuracy.
