Kamala Harris's Earrings Spark Conspiracy Theories During Debate: Fact Check

Following yesterday's Trump-Harris debate, there were claims on social media that Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris was wearing hidden earphones disguised as pearl earrings, a tech product that does not appear to be available for purchase.

The claims say that Harris was wearing a set of Nova H1 Audio Earrings, created by German startup NOVA Products, during the first presidential debate between the vice president and Donald Trump.

There is to date no proof that Harris was wearing such earrings. Newsweek reached out to the Harris-Walz campaign for comment.

While video footage of the debate shows that Harris was wearing pearl earrings, several social-media users have pointed out their similarity to a pair of Double Pearl Hinged Earrings from Tiffany & Co.

An online search for the Nova H1 Audio Earrings shows that they do not currently appear to be on sale anywhere, and NOVA Products' website redirects to another company, Icebach Sound Solutions.

Additionally, backers on crowdfunding site Kickstarter have left messages from over a year ago asking for delivery status of their purchased H1 earrings that supposedly never materialized. NOVA Products' last login to Kickstarter was in May 2023.

Newsweek reached out to Icebach Sound Solutions via email for comment.

The claims Harris was wearing the devices come from social media accounts including @24ELECTIONS on X, formerly Twitter. The account, which has 1.3k followers, claimed: "She is seen wearing an earring developed by Nova Audio Earrings first seen at CES 2023. This earring has audio transmission capabilities and acts as a discreet earpiece."

Another X accounts, @JonnieKing, shared the claim in a post that has since been reshared 1.7k times across the social media platform.

Conspiracy Theories About Hidden Devices in Debates

A Reddit group, or subreddit, r/conspiracy, also shared this claim with a post titled "Interesting", a link to the Kickstarter page, and a side-by-side image of Kamala Harris and a product image of Nova H1.

This is not the first time conspiracy theories have circulated about hidden communication devices during presidential debates. Similar claims were made about Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential campaign, specifically after a televised forum called the Commander-in-Chief Forum on September 7, 2016.

Hillary Clinton and the 2016 Debate

Some conservative websites and social-media users circulated images they said showed Clinton wearing an earpiece during this event. Fact-checking websites PolitiFact and Snopes examined and dismissed claims that a flesh-colored earpiece could be seen in Clinton's ear.

Joe Biden and the 2020 Debate

There was also a claim circulating during the 2020 presidential election campaign that President Joe Biden wore a hidden earpiece during a debate. This emerged before the first presidential debate between Biden and Donald Trump on September 29, 2020. Some conservative media figures alleged that the Democrat used a hidden earpiece to receive answers or coaching during the debate.

However, there was no evidence to support this. Biden's campaign strongly denied the claim, calling it "completely absurd." The Commission on Presidential Debates also stated that neither candidate was permitted to wear an earpiece during the debate.

Nova H1 Audio Earrings: Features and Availability

The clip-on Nova H1 Audio Earrings, according to the startup's Kickstarter page, "are placed on the earlobes and project the sound from inside the pearl straight into your ear canal." It adds that "two tiny high-end microphones are integrated into each Earring providing the user with crystal clear phone calls and wind-noise cancellation."

Debuted at CES [Consumer Electronics Show] in Las Vegas, Nevada, in January 2023, these Bluetooth wearables have "directional sound" that allows for privacy. "Any audio output is absolutely private; so you are the only one hearing your conversations and music," says the product description on the Kickstarter page.