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Here are the most viral lies we’ve debunked about Kamala Harris.

Posted on by L. Dreeye
Here are the most viral lies we’ve debunked about Kamala Harris.

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Since Vice President Kamala Harris replaced President Joe Biden as the Democratic presidential nominee in August, she has been the target of a slew of false accusations online.

Now, with less than a week until Election Day, social media users continue to share misinformation about Harris, from altered images and videos to false claims about her policy proposals and ethnicity. And she has also made false and misleading statements, including during debates when she misrepresented a SCOTUS decision against former President Donald Trump, mischaracterized Trump’s use of the word “bloodbath” and mischaracterized abortion initiatives under “Project 2025.” “

Various polls show Harris and Trump neck and neck in key battleground states as the two candidates enter their final week of campaigning.

Here’s a roundup of checks on Harris from USA TODAY’s fact-checking team. We will publish a similar review of Trump-related claims on November 1.

More from the fact-checking team: How we select and investigate claims | Email Newsletter | Facebook page

Claim: Harris grew up in Canada, is not African American, and held black prisoners after his release date.

Our rating: Partially incorrect

These statements exaggerate or distort reality. Harris spent most of her childhood in the United States before moving to Quebec at age 12 and staying there through high school. Although her mother was Indian and her father was Jamaican, she has long identified as black, and the federal government considers people of Jamaican descent to be black or African American. The statement about the prisoners mischaracterizes the argument made by her California attorney general’s attorneys about the need for nonviolent criminals to help fight wildfires.

Full fact check: Misleading claims about Kamala Harris’ childhood and ethnicity

Claim: Video shows Harris saying Biden is ‘unstable’

Our rating: Changed

The clip is edited to make it appear that Harris is talking about President Joe Biden. The original footage shows Harris using the word “unstable” after an interviewer asked her opinion about Trump’s mental state.

Full fact check: Harris calls Trump, not Biden, ‘unstable’ in Fox interview

Claim: Harris said she won’t accept election results in NBC interview

Full fact check: No, Harris did not tell NBC that she would refuse to accept the election results.

Our rating: False

Harris said no such thing during the interview. She said she has a team ready to respond if Trump declares victory in the presidential election prematurely and criticized Trump’s reluctance to accept the results of the 2020 election.

Claim: The image shows a headline from The Atlantic that Harris “may have to steal the election.”

Our rating: Changed

The image is a work of fiction. The Atlantic reported that the headline was a modified version of a 2021 article titled “Kamala Harris May Have to Stop the Steal.”

Full fact check: The headline that Harris wants to steal the election is fabricated.

Claim: Video shows Harris reading from a teleprompter during a Univision town hall meeting.

Our rating: False

According to Univision News president and town hall moderator, Harris did not read her answers via teleprompter. A Univision News report showed that the text on the teleprompter was in Spanish and was meant to help the moderator introduce the contestant.

Full fact check: The teleprompter was intended for the Univision moderator, not Harris.

Claim: The IRS sided with Harris.

Our rating: False

The IRS has provided no such confirmation. The union representing IRS employees has endorsed Harris but is not speaking on behalf of the agency.

Full fact check: The union representing IRS employees backed Kamala Harris over the IRS itself.

Claim: Harris first visited the US southern border in September 2024.

Our rating: False

Harris’ trip to the U.S. southern border in September 2024 was her second as vice president. She last visited the border in 2021, when she traveled to Texas.

Full fact check: Harris visited the US southern border twice as vice president.

Claim: The video shows Harris slurring his words to Helen.

Our rating: Changed

The video was edited to slow down Harris’ speech. Videos released by the White House, C-SPAN and the Associated Press showed Harris speaking normally.

Full fact check: Video of Harris slurring Helen’s warning words edited

Claim: Harris’ down payment assistance plan excludes relatives of homebuyers

Our rating: False

Harris’ campaign said her proposal would provide down payment assistance of up to $25,000 to first-time homebuyers who pay rent on time for two years. There is no evidence that the program would be limited to people whose parents or siblings do not own their own home.

Full fact check: Harris’ new plan for homebuyers doesn’t exclude siblings, children of homeowners

Claim: Video shows Harris saying “next question” to avoid a CNN question about the economy

Our rating: Changed

The clip is deceptively edited. Video and a transcript of the August interview released by CNN show Harris did not ask the “next question” when asked by CNN anchor Dana Bash about the economy. Harris made the remark elsewhere in the interview while responding to a question about her race.

Full fact check: Harris said ‘next issue’ will be about race, not economics

Claim: Video shows Mike Pence endorsing Harris for president

Our rating: Changed

The video was edited to shorten the beginning of former Vice President Pence’s sentence and change the meaning of his statement. Pence did not endorse Harris in the video, saying he could not vote for her.

Full fact check: Mike Pence endorses Kamala Harris for president? No, the clip is fake

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(This story has been updated to add new information)