President Joe Biden's unexpected decision to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race has unleashed a flood of misinformation targeting Vice President Kamala Harris, whom Biden has endorsed as the Democratic Party's candidate. On Sunday, Biden, facing increasing pressure following a lackluster debate performance against Donald Trump, announced his decision to step down, stating on social media, "It's time to come together and beat Trump."
In the wake of this announcement, Republican attacks on Harris have intensified, with a video clip purporting to show her making a confusing and awkward speech gaining traction on social media. The video, posted by user CherylWroteIt on July 22, 2024, features Harris saying, "Today is today, and yesterday is today yesterday. Tomorrow will be today tomorrow, so live today so the future today will be as the past today, as it is tomorrow."
CherylWroteIt's caption read, "We're clearly living in an alternate universe, because there is no other explanation for how this woman could ever be outside of either drug rehab or a mental institution, nevertheless the endorsed favorite to be the nominee to go into an election. Honestly... what the hell is wrong with people who could even contemplate the consideration of thinking to vote for this person? Surely society is not so depraved and devoid of even the most rudimentary of common sense?"
This clip, however, is a fabrication. It appears to be an AI-generated deepfake, manipulating footage from a 2023 speech by Harris. The full transcript of the original speech, available from the White House, contains no such confusing phrases. Newsweek's Fact Check team has labeled the clip as false, confirming it does not match any official records.
In addition to this, other misinformation campaigns have emerged, falsely associating Harris with various scandals. Following Biden's announcement, right-wing influencers have circulated old footage of Harris attending a 2001 charity event with TV host Montel Williams, whom she briefly dated. These clips have been misrepresented to suggest that Harris's political ascent is due to relationships with powerful men, including a baseless connection to Sean "Diddy" Combs, who faces multiple sexual assault allegations.
One X (formerly Twitter) user falsely claimed that Harris attended "Diddy parties in Los Angeles," referring to Combs as "the music industry's Jeffrey Epstein." This claim is unfounded, as the event in question was the Eighth Annual Race to Erase Multiple Sclerosis, which Combs did not organize. QAnon promoter Dom Lucre, previously banned from Twitter for sharing graphic child sexual abuse material, also pushed this false narrative, gaining significant traction.
Conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer further escalated these attacks, falsely alleging that Harris "was once an escort" and advanced her career through illicit means. Loomer referenced Harris's past relationship with California politician Willie Brown, who appointed her to state administrative boards in the 1990s, but misrepresented the context and timeline.
Other attempts to smear Harris include doctored photos showing her with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. These images are altered versions of photos where Harris is with her husband, Doug Emhoff. Additionally, false claims about Harris's eligibility for the presidency have resurfaced, questioning her natural-born citizen status despite her birth in Oakland, California.
This barrage of misinformation mirrors the tactics used against Barack Obama during his presidency, particularly the "birther" conspiracy. The intensity and nature of the attacks suggest that if Harris becomes the official candidate, the misinformation campaign will only escalate, leveraging deepfake technology and manipulated media to undermine her credibility.
As Democrats rally around Harris, the efficacy of their defense against these tactics will be crucial in the lead-up to the 2024 election. Harris, as a woman of color, faces not only the typical political smear campaigns but also an added layer of racial and gender bias. This dynamic underscores the challenges she will encounter, highlighting the need for a robust and proactive strategy to counter misinformation and ensure a fair and transparent electoral process.
