Vice President Kamala Harris has been accused of faking a phone call with a voter because she turned the phone around and the camera app was open on the device. But is it really true?
C-SPAN shared a clip of Harris stopping by the DNC headquarters last night to speak to staff and take phone calls. At about 1:20 into the clip, she shows the phone which is on the camera app leading many to believe she was faking the call.
“Have you voted already? You did! Thank you!”
Vice President Harris stops by DNC headquarters, speaks to staff and takes some phone calls. pic.twitter.com/oKMKYddWso
— CSPAN (@cspan) November 5, 2024
Newsweek, Daily Mail, and The Sun all carried articles suggesting she faked the call as well as numerous online accounts including those belonging to prominent figures like Georgia representative Marjorie Taylor-Green and Donald Trump’s son Eric Trump.
PetaPixel’s Verdict: False
Harris’s detractors argue that she couldn’t have turned on the camera app while on a phone call and they are right — because she didn’t turn on the camera while on the phone. The camera app was already open when she was handed the device.
If you look closely at the footage, when Harris walks into the room many people hold up their phones to take a photo of her; unsurprising given she is running to be president. And if you look even closer, you will see that one of those people taking a photo of Harris is the same person whose phone she grabs.
The phone’s owner was on a call while taking photos of Harris when she walked in and handed the phone to her without closing the camera app first.
Furthermore if you look at the extended footage posted to PBS NewsHour, Harris stays in the room for another ten minutes and continues taking calls on other people’s phones. Did she fake all of those calls? Incredibly unlikely.
The episode is an example of how internet users can jump on a brief clip where something unusual happens and remove all context so they can attach a false narrative to it.