Shortly after the debate between the two candidates for the presidency of the United States, reports appeared on social networks and the media that the current vice president had resorted to deception: she allegedly came wearing earrings with built-in headphones. We checked if this is true.
The first and so far the only debate Donald Trump and Kamala Harris passed on the night of September 11, Moscow time. The organizer was the ABC television company, and, according to publications there rules, participants were not allowed to communicate with their assistants and were not allowed to bring props or pre-written notes into the podium. Each candidate was provided with only a pen, a notepad and a bottle of water. However, after the end of the event, messages about the fraud of a participant from the US Democratic Party circulated on social networks. “Kamala Harris came to the debate with Trump wearing headphones in the form of earrings. Model Nova H1 Audio Earrings. The announcer answered her questions there,” states the Telegram channel “Sanya in Florida"(435,000 views at the time of writing this analysis).
According to the TGStat service, at the time of writing this analysis, about 500 similar Russian-language posts appeared on Telegram, with a total of approximately 4 million views. For example, in the channels "RT in Russian" (191,000 views) and "Evil proof️” (185,000) only suggested that Harris came with headphones. The channels gave this statement as “Dmitry Nicotin"(339,000 views), "Putin on Telegram" (176,000), "Mriya"(156,000), Voblya (140,000), "Pool N3"(112,000), "Gossip" (77,000) and "Hedgehog/diary"with reference to a political scientist Sergei Markov (69,000). The media also wrote about the accusations against the vice president: “Komsomolskaya Pravda", Lenta.ru, "News", "Gazeta.ru", "Arguments and facts", TV channel "360", Ura.ru, "Military Review", "Business online"etc.
The authors of many of the posts and notes mentioned above refer to the English language tweet user under the nickname Jonnie King (773,000 views), who has less than 6,000 subscribers. According to him profile, he is a musician with an interest in the crypto business and a Trump supporter. At 06:11 Moscow time, Jonnie King wrote that Harris wore Nova H1 Audio Earrings to the debate. “This is why she was constantly seen taking notes with a pen during the debates, even though it was decided in advance that no notes would be taken,” the same post said. Let us remember that pens and notepads were given to the candidates by the organizers of the event. Later I wrote about the rumor about earrings with headphones calling blogger TaraBull, whose tweet received more than 22 million views.
In his post, Jonnie King, in addition to a photo of Harris from the debate, presented a screenshot showing Nova H1 Audio Earrings with built-in headphones. This screenshot was taken on the website Kickstarter — a platform through which entrepreneurs raise funds for the implementation of their projects. Such a device is actually presented there, and positioned it's like "the first and only wireless headphones built into pearl earrings on a gold or silver plated clip." From the description it follows that they are put on the earlobes and transmit sound from inside the pearl directly into the ear canal. The website states that the project is being carried out by a team from Germany, which was supported by 323 people in the amount of €104,000 (support levels ranged from €248 to €655). From the updates in the project profile, the last of which appeared on May 31, 2023, it follows that some of the devices have allegedly already been delivered. Hasn't been updated since then profile Nova on Instagram*.
However, USA Today notes: It's unclear if anyone actually owns a pair of earrings like this. The editors contacted Malte Iversen - founder and CEO of the German company Icebach Sound, which acquired Nova's intellectual property after the project became insolvent in 2023. According to Iversen, his firm did not receive any money from Nova investors on Kickstarter. He added that the earrings were out of stock and the company was seeking funding to “step up operations accordingly.” In conversation with Forbes Iversen said, that he doesn’t know what earrings Harris was wearing during the debate.
In response to the increased attention to Icebach, the company - probably as a joke - added There is an announcement on the website about the start of sales of a “Special version [of earrings] dedicated to the debate.” The description reads: “After the presidential debate, we were contacted by a number of television programs asking for interviews. After careful discussions, we have decided that we will do one live interview to clear up all the rumors and myths surrounding our wonderful products. Our choice fell on interviewer Jimmy Fallon - he is a loyal Bavarian at heart. Please refrain from asking for interviews unless you are Jimmy Fallon. Thank you!" In conversation with Newsweek Iversen continued joke: “Although our product was not specifically designed for use in presidential debates, it is nonetheless suitable for use in presidential debates. To ensure a level playing field for both candidates, we are currently developing a male version and will soon be able to offer it to the Trump campaign. However, choosing a color is a little tricky because orange doesn't go well with many colors."
There is no reason to believe that Harris was wearing similar headphones. On the Getty Images photo agency website published some pictures Vice President, which were made during and shortly after debate and where you can see her earrings in detail. When comparing the Harris jewelry to the Nova, you will notice that the inlaid pearls are similar, but the gold clasps are completely different.
In January 2023, on the Tom’s guide website, tech blogger and journalist Kate Kozukh released a note about how Nova H1 audio headphones were tested at CES. According to her, the device was supposed to be available in the US at the end of the year, and the model with gold clips cost €695. In the material she posted her photo with an earphone earring with a silver clip for €595 and published a similar photo on her Instagram story (the post was later reposted by the Nova account). Both of these photos are from the blogger TaraBull mentioned above used in comparisons purporting to prove that Harris secretly brought such a device to the debate. Other internet users And Media They also provided similar collages.
Apparently, the authors of such comparisons also mixed up the fasteners. The fact is that Kozukh wears several earrings in one ear at once, and in this case, Internet users mistook two of them, gold and silver, for a Nova H1 clip. When the pictures went viral on the Internet, the girl published a story in which she stated that she was now receiving a lot of strange letters. She called claims that Harris wore earbuds to the debate as conspiracy theories and misinformation.
In addition, some users claim, as if Harris had always worn different pearl earrings before, and during the debate she was wearing new jewelry. “We looked through the archive of photographs of Kamala. It’s very strange: although she is, in Trump’s words, a “Marxist,” she is not a poor woman. The regulation seems to oblige you to update your wardrobe and jewelry. The wardrobe is regularly changing, but the vice president has still gone out in public wearing exactly two pairs of earrings. Large black pearls or large white ones framed in metal. The current earrings are the third in a row,” it says in an article in the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper. In fact, according to the site What Kamala woreHarris has previously worn more than two pairs of earrings, and has worn the ones she wore during the debate multiple times in recent years. For example, the same jewelry was worn by the vice president in September 2022 and in June 2024.
According to the site What Kamala wore, these are gold earrings with pearls from the collection HardWear from Tiffany & Co. TV channel "Moscow 24" assertsthat the company produces similar earrings, but another colors, and concludes: “Perhaps they made a special order for Harris.” In fact, these pieces are simply no longer available on Tiffany's website.
Thus, there is no significant evidence that Harris wore a hidden audio headset to the presidential debate with Trump. The jewelry, which some media and Internet users mistook for Nova earrings, were actually produced by the Tiffany jewelry company, and the vice president has been wearing them for several years. However, we note that some conspiracy theories cannot be verified at this time. For example, one user statedthat the US government could copy the technology of these headphones and release them specifically for Harris. “The engineers in the States are good; it would not be difficult for them to reproduce a German invention,” adds "Komsomolskaya Pravda". In addition, there is theorythat the Tiffany earrings may have been modified.
*Russian authorities think Meta Platforms Inc., which owns the social network Instagram, is an extremist organization; its activities in Russia are prohibited.
Cover photo: collage from social networks
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