By now, Americans are totally familiar with the term “fake news.” It is not, however, what news organizations like CNN, MSNBC, The Associated Press, or your local media outlet put out on a daily basis. Yes, those companies and others like them make mistakes, but almost always do everything they can to correct the record when a mistake is found or facts change in evolving stories.
On the other hand, there are organizations that do nothing but spread disinformation. Some of them are covert operations sponsored by governments, like what Americans learned about how countries like Russia sew into the American dialogue false claims, quotes, and other bogus information using social media and other techniques. Then there are those loner trolls who do it for fun and profit, some even based in the US.
After Senator Kamala Harris was picked to be Joe Biden’s running mate, it didn’t take long for the spreaders of disinformation to go into high gear. We have located five of them that are unfortunately being believed and shared around the internet.
False: Kamala Harris promised the “vengence of a nation” against Trump voters if Democrats retook the White House
This one was actually first published by an independent “for-profit” troll who goes by the moniker of “Busta troll” last year. In the real world, the person’s name is Christopher Blair. His meme is now being spread again in “updated” form — meaning he )or someone) updated the date when she supposedly said it. But actually, she never said it. It was fabricated by Blair just to troll Trump supporters. It looks like they are falling for it. Below is the meme:
False: Photo shows Kamala Harris with her parents, who are not African American
This one has been making the rounds on Facebook and other platforms again, and strangely enough in the legitimate news world, Trump pundits have been making claims that she is “not black enough.” There is no evidence to suggest the photo and the separate comments by pundits are related or coordinated. The photo actually shows Kamala at an event when she was Attorney General. The two people pictured are from an Indian charitable organization and are definitely not her parents. Facebook is at least flagging this one, but expect other versions to emerge and skate around Facebook’s security.
False: Kamala Harris is ineligible to serve as President.
The claim is that Harris’s parents are Indian and Jamaican. Therefore, she is not eligible to serve as President and must be foreign-born. The truth is that while Harris’s parents are immigrants, Harris was born in the USA and is a natural-born citizen who is absolutely eligible to serve as President.
Factcheck.org did a good breakdown of the facts if one needs more details. Although the truth here is pretty simple. The people in the picture are not her parents and she is eligible to serve as President.
Americans cannot make a good and informed choice if they are bombarded with only fake claims and bogus quotes attributed to Harris or any other candidate. The only way to combat such tactics is with the truth. Please share this and any other fact checks that debunk false stories about any candidate. it is the only way Americans can stay informed so they can make the correct choice on Election Day.
