Photos depicting Kamala Harris as a sex worker are AI-generated

Context 

Social media users have been circulating images depicting incumbent Vice President and presidential nominee Kamala Harris as a sex worker ahead of the upcoming U.S. presidential elections since at least August 2, 2024. The photos show what appears to be Harris wearing revealing clothing. So far there are at least three images being circulated. 

One of the posts is captioned, "Here is a picture I stumbled across of Kamala Harris in 1996 when she was supposedly working as a prostitute to elderly politicians in order to advance her 'career.'" 

It includes two images with a caption that reads, "Staffers in San Francisco are coming forward stating that Kamala Harris was an escort for judges, politicians, and various powerful businessmen to sway court cases and help push leftist policies in the state. Democrats are trying to bury these allegations!"

At least three images claiming to depict U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris as a sex worker have been circulated on social media. The images show signs of being AI-generated and have not been reshared by any reputable sources. (Source: X/Composite by Logically Facts)

The images are spreading on X (formerly Twitter) and other social media platforms, including Threads. 

Logically Facts has previously debunked allegations that Kamala Harris used to work as an escort, including a misattributed photograph that circulated with claims it depicted Harris as a sex worker during her university years. Similarly, these photographs show tell-tale signs of being AI-generated. There is no evidence that Harris worked as an escort earlier in her career. 

What we found

The images circulating of Harris show signs of being AI-generated. For example, in one of the popular images circulating one of her fingers appears to be significantly thinner than the other. There also appears to be a second chain necklace emerging from a choker she is wearing.

Image of "Kamala Harris" as a sex worker includes fingers that are out of proportion and a necklace that is both a chain and a choker, indicating it is likely AI-generated. (Source: X/Modified by Logically Facts)

Photos taken from close to 1996 indicate Kamala Harris appears older in the sex worker images than she did in photos taken at the time, including in the now famous photograph of her with Willie Brown, then speaker of the California Assembly who she dated in 1994. Her cheekbones were less prominent in the late 1990s and early 2000s than they are now, indicating the images may be based on more contemporary photos of Harris.

Photo of Kamala Harris and Willie Brown taken in 1994. (Source: Los Angeles Times)

The images showing Harris as a sex worker trace back to a 4chan message board, but the link is now broken. 4chan has been the source of numerous disinformation campaigns and Logically Facts has previously debunked claims originating on the platform.

In 1996 Harris was still working as a deputy district attorney in California. We could not find any evidence of any former staffers alleging that she was an escort at the time.

The verdict

The images that claim to depict Kamala Harris as a sex worker in 1996 show signs of being AI-generated and appear to trace to a 4chan messenger board, which has been the site for numerous disinformation campaigns. Harris' features in the images do not match with real photos taken of her at the time. We have also found no evidence of any of her former staffers coming forward to claim that she worked as an escort. We have therefore rated this claim fake.