Kamala Harris wasn't wearing Nova H1 ‘audio earrings’ during presidential debate

What is the claim?

The first U.S. presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, hosted by ABC News, occurred in Philadelphia on September 10. Shortly after the debate concluded, some social media users alleged Harris was wearing "audio earrings" during the debate and was being coached, which would be against the rules. 

One such post (archived here) on X (formerly Twitter) featured two images comparing a zoomed-in image of Harris's pearl earrings alongside an image of Nova H1 audio earrings, suggesting she used them during the debate. The caption read, "BUSTED! SHE'S WEARING EARPHONE EARRINGS NOVA H1 Audio Earrings - the first and only wireless earphones embedded in a pair of pearl earrings on a gold or silver-plated clip. LOOK AT HER EARRINGS! Busted!" This post garnered more than 4.6 million views, 65,000 likes, and 19,000 reposts at the time of writing this fact-check.

Multiple other posts on X made similar claims, commenting on Harris' choice of earrings. Archived versions of those posts are here, here, here, and here. Similar claims are also circulating on Facebook, with archived versions of those posts available here, here, and here. 

Screenshot of viral posts circulating on social media. (Source: X/Facebook/Screenshot/Modified by Logically Facts) 

However, these claims are false. We found that Harris' earrings during the debate were distinct from the Nova H1 audio earrings, and they appeared to be regular earrings, not audio devices.

What did we find? 

We reviewed the entire debate, which was live-streamed on ABC News' official YouTube channel (archived here), and checked Harris' photographs captured during the debate available on Getty Images. We found that Harris' earrings differ from the Nova H1 earrings mentioned in the viral post. 

The official website and social media accounts (archived here) of Nova Audio Earrings, produced by Icebach Sound Solutions, show various images and videos of models wearing smart earrings. Comparing these to Harris' earrings, we found that although both have large pearls, Harris' earrings have two golden strands below the pearl, and Nova has only one. 

Comparison between the Nova H1 earrings and Harris' jewelry. (Source: ABC News/YouTube/Nova audio earrings/Instagram)

We also found that Harris wore the same earrings in July 2024 at an event honoring National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championship teams. These earrings do not resemble the audio earrings mentioned in the viral post either, further disproving the claim.

Although we do not know the exact brand of earrings Harris wore, they very closely resemble those listed on the Tiffany & Co. jewelry website. 

The verdict

Kamala Harris wore ordinary pearl earrings and not an audio device during the U.S. presidential debate with Donald Trump, as incorrectly claimed in the viral social media posts.  

Follow Logically Facts' coverage and fact-checking of the U.S. Election 2024 here.