Vice President Kamala Harris received many celebrity endorsements leading up to the election, including from Beyoncé, Oprah Winfrey, Eminem, Megan Thee Stallion and Lizzo. Social media posts have made the unfounded claim that these celebrities were collectively paid $20 million for their endorsements. We’ve found no evidence to support the claim.
Singer-songwriter Beyoncé endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for president at a campaign rally in Houston on Oct. 25. Social media posts have made the unfounded claim that Beyoncé was paid $10 million for the endorsement. We found no evidence to support the claim, and a Harris campaign official said “it is not true.”
National Guard troops have been activated during past elections to assist with cybersecurity, processing votes and potential protests. But social media posts have made the unsupported claim that former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has called for the National Guard “at every voting station and ballot counting facility” on Election Day.
Former Vice President Mike Pence has said he will not endorse former President Donald Trump in the 2024 election, but Pence has also said he “could never” vote for Trump’s opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris. An edited video on social media misleadingly purports to show Pence endorsing Harris. He did not.
An ad from Vice President Kamala Harris features a Pennsylvania farming couple who say they are “lifelong Republicans” but are voting for Harris. Social media users, citing a video from an Australian news site, falsely claim the couple are “actors” and Democratic donors. The news site has corrected its report.
Following the arrest of music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs for sex trafficking and other charges, social media users — including former President Donald Trump — shared a digitally altered photo that purports to show Combs with Vice President Kamala Harris. The original image actually shows Harris with then-talk show host Montel Williams in 2001.
Pop star Taylor Swift endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for president on Sept. 10. Social media posts falsely claim that, as a result, Swift’s ticket sales have plummeted and some of her concerts and a major endorsement deal have been canceled. The remaining U.S. shows on Swift’s Eras tour are all sold out, and she has not lost her partnership with Coca-Cola.
During the April 8 eclipse, people in the path of totality were able to see solar phenomena, including the sun’s corona. But social media posts have shared altered or composite images of these phenomena, claiming one image was “captured by NASA.” It was actually an artist’s rendering of a composite photo of the 2017 eclipse.
Local governments are preparing residents for an influx of visitors during the April 8 solar eclipse that will be most visible along a narrow path through the U.S., with one Oklahoma county inviting the National Guard for support. But social media posts baselessly claim the preparations suggest “something catastrophic” will occur during the eclipse.
A missile fired by Yemen’s Houthi militants damaged a British-owned cargo ship on the Red Sea on Feb. 18 and forced its crew to evacuate. Some social media posts falsely claimed the Houthis “made sure to rescue” the 24-member crew. U.S. Central Command said the crew was rescued by a “coalition warship along with another merchant vessel.”