Claim: A picture shows Kamala Harris and Jeffrey Epstein posing together.
Fact: The image is doctored. It actually shows Harris with her husband, Douglas Emhoff.
On 22 July 2024, Facebook user ‘April Lynn’ posted (archive) a visual containing a photo allegedly showing US Vice President Kamala Harris and the late Jeffrey Epstein, a billionaire financier and sex offender, standing next to each other, alongside the text “Make this photo famous.”
Harris formally accepted the Democratic Party’s nomination for president on 23 August 2024, as the US heads to elections in November 2024. According to a survey by The Associated Press, she received more than 1,976 Democratic delegates’ endorsements needed to win her a nomination ticket at the Democratic National Convention (DNC), which was held from 19 August to 22 August in Chicago.
Related: Hillary Clinton not replacing Joe Biden in 2024 US election
On 21 July, US President Joe Biden had announced that he was stepping away from the presidential race and endorsed Harris, his VP, as the Democratic nominee.
“Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year. Democrats — it’s time to come together and beat Trump,” Biden wrote. Harris expressed gratitude and wrote on X, “I am honored to have the President’s endorsement and my intention is to earn and win this nomination.”
The Jeffrey Epstein scandal
Epstein, born on 20 January 1953, had a controversial life and career, starting off as a physics and maths teacher before entering finance and founding his firm, J. Epstein and Co. in 1982. Over time, he gained public attention and his wealth expanded globally, with his connections including prominent figures such as former US presidents Donald Trump and Bill Clinton.
In 2008, the billionaire financier faced allegations of sexually abusing underage girls, resulting in a plea deal with then-US Attorney Alex Acosta. He was rearrested in 2019 on suspicion of sex trafficking minors and eventually died by suicide in jail. The unsealed documents, made public in January 2024, named over 170 of Epstein’s associates highlighting his complex network of connections.
Read more: Imran Khan is not on Jeffrey Epstein’s list
Little St. James Island, which is infamously known as Epstein’s Island and situated in the US Virgin Islands, became the centre of disturbing allegations involving a worldwide grooming scheme. Accusations from a campaigner and the Virgin Islands attorney general’s office stated that Epstein and his recruiters targeted young women, with victims as young as 12, deceptively subjected them to sexual servitude, and transported them to the island between 2001 and 2019.
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check reverse-searched the image and found that it is doctored.
The original picture, available on stock photo agency Getty Images here, shows Kamala Harris, standing next to her husband, Douglas Emhoff, at an event in September 2015. It is captioned as follows:
“LOS ANGELES, CA – SEPTEMBER 17: Douglas Emhoff and Kamala Harris attends The Broad Museum Black Tie Inaugural Dinner at The Broad on September 17, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jerod Harris/Getty Images)”
A comparison between the original and viral, doctored image suggests that an image of Epstein was edited onto Emhoff’s face, as is evident in the comparison visual below:
Soch Fact Check, therefore, concludes that an image depicting US VP Harris standing with Jeffrey Epstein is doctored.
Virality
We found the false claim shared here and here on Facebook, here, here, here, here, and here X (formerly Twitter), and here on Instagram.
It was also posted on TikTok and used in the thumbnail of a YouTube video.
The doctored image was also shared on a website called The Great Awakening, with the title “A Reminder of Who Kamala Harris Is Ahead of Her Election Campaign – photo: Kamala With Jeffrey Epstein 👀”. The page is likely linked to the QAnon conspiracy theory, the followers of which, according to Encyclopedia Britannica, “believed that U.S. Pres. Donald Trump was waging a secret war against a cabal of satanic cannibalistic pedophiles within Hollywood, the Democratic Party, and the so-called “deep state” within the United States government”.
Conclusion: The image actually shows Harris with her husband, Douglas Emhoff. The viral visual is doctored.
Background image in cover photo: KamalaHarris
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