On July 23, a Georgian-language Facebook account posted about Kamala Harris, the Vice President of the United States and a potential presidential candidate, claiming she provided sexual services to elites in the past. The post includes several photos and videos. One photo shows two women, with one, having curly hair and wearing a black dress, suggested to be Kamala Harris. One of the videos features Harris with TV host Montel Williams, while another shows Harris speaking incoherently. The post’s author writes: “Tucker Carlson himself dedicated a program to the prostitution facts of the American presidential candidate. Don’t think she’s just a simple prostitute; she was a whore of the elites at parties.”
The disseminated information contains visual manipulations: 1. The video in which Harris speaks incoherently is altered, and she did not speak that way during her speech at Howard University. 2. The photo claimed to show the US Vice President during sex work actually depicts unknown individuals, and the photographer confirmed Kamala Harris is not in the image. 3. Using a video of Harris and TV host Montel Williams to assert that the Vice President provided sexual services to elites serves to discredit Harris, and there is no evidence to support this claim.
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The Disseminated Photo Does Not Depict Kamala Harris’s Past Activities
The photo circulated on social media shows two sex workers, with one, having curly hair and wearing a black dress, suggested to be Kamala Harris. This photo, with the accompanying claim, was initially spread by Matt Wallace on the platform Rumble on July 8.
The fact-checking portal Logically Facts attempted to identify the individuals in the photo. They stated that the photo was taken in New York in 1989 by street photographer Matt Weber and is titled “For Sale.” Logically Facts noted that during this time, Kamala Harris was studying in San Francisco, making it unlikely she was involved in sex work in another state. They also mentioned that Harris had a different hairstyle in the late ’80s than the person shown in the photo.
The fact-checking platform additionally contacted the photographer. Matt Weber denied that Kamala Harris was in the photo, stating: “You know it is not Kamala, and the instantaneous posting of this image is such an example of desperation.”
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Information Claiming Harris Provided Sexual Services to Elites is Without Evidence
A video showing Kamala Harris with TV host Montel Williams is used to disseminate unsubstantiated claims about Harris’s past activities. The video, originally shared by American media Inside Edition a few years ago, claims Harris and Williams were dating, marking their first public appearance together. The video was recorded at the 2001 annual Race to Erase MS event. The Race to Erase MS is an organization focused on treating the central nervous system and hosts annual charity events. The 2001 event was attended by Montel Williams, Kamala Harris, and his daughter.
This video has circulated in the past as well. In 2019, Montel Williams posted on social media stating that he and Harris dated 20 years ago when both of them were single. In the post, Williams questioned whether people would write as much about Harris’s relationships if she were a man.
Using this video to suggest that Kamala Harris provided sexual services to elites aims to discredit the presidential candidate. There is no evidence that Harris was involved in sexual services.
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The Video Showing Kamala Harris Speaking Incoherently is Altered
The circulated video shows Kamala Harris saying during a speech: “Today is today and yesterday was today yesterday. Tomorrow will be today tomorrow, so live today, so the future today will be as the past today as it is tomorrow.” This video also circulated last year. Myth Detector found that the video is altered, and during her speech at Howard University, the Vice President spoke about the fight for reproductive rights.
On July 21, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the presidential race on X (formerly Twitter). Vice President Kamala Harris has enough delegate support to be nominated as the Democratic presidential candidate.
Misleading information and visual manipulations about Kamala Harris have circulated in the past, and Myth Detector has fact-checked several of them:
- How Kamala Harris’s Words Were Misrepresented Through Video Editing
- Did “The Simpsons” Predict Kamala Harris’s Vice Presidency?
- How the False Claim Spread That Kamala Harris is Against Celebrating Christmas
About the Source
The Georgian-language account “Nino Nino” was initially registered under the name dato.okribelashvili.77. It has previously spread visual manipulations. Myth Detector has fact-checked a number of false claims voiced by “Nino Nino.”
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