President Joe Biden’s decision to exit the 2024 presidential race and endorse Vice President Kamala Harris for the Democratic nomination led to misinformation online as people grappled with the historic election shakeup .
As Harris suddenly stepped into the role of presidential candidate, the facts competed with a growing amount of disinformation about everything from Harris’ work on the U.S. border to Biden’s status as president.
Here’s a roundup of checks related to Biden’s exit and Harris’ ascent as the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee from the USA TODAY Fact Check team.
The claim: Half-staff flag at US Capitol is related to Joe Biden
Our rating: False
The Capitol flag was lowered following the death of Texas Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee on July 19. Federal law requires the flag to remain at half-staff for at least two days upon the death of a sitting member of Congress.
Full fact check: Capitol flag at half-staff because of Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, not Biden
The claim: Kamala Harris was ‘put in charge of the border’
Our rating: False
The post exaggerates the vice president's role in addressing migration at the southern border. Harris was never put in charge of the border or made "border czar," immigration experts said. President Joe Biden tasked Harris with leading the administration's diplomatic efforts addressing the "root causes" of migration in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.
Full fact check: Harris’ border work was on ‘root causes’ of migration; she wasn’t in charge
The claims: Kamala Harris was raised in Canada, is not African-American and held Black prisoners past release dates
Our rating: Partly false
These claims exaggerate or misstate reality. Harris spent most of her childhood in the U.S. before moving to Quebec at age 12 and staying through high school. While her mother was Indian and her father is Jamaican, she has long identified as Black, and the federal government counts people of Jamaican ancestry as Black or African American. The claim about prisoners mischaracterizes an argument made by attorneys for her California Attorney General’s office about the need for nonviolent offenders to help fight wildfires.
Full fact check: Misleading claims about Kamala Harris’ childhood, ethnicity
The claim: Video shows Secret Service failing to protect Kamala Harris in 2023
Our rating: False
The incident happened five years ago when Harris was a 2020 presidential candidate, not in 2023 during her vice presidency. The Secret Service can protect major presidential candidates, but the incident occurred long before the agency would have been protecting her.
Full fact check: Video of Kamala Harris and protester from before Secret Service protection
The claim: Video shows Harris presidential campaign ad from 2024
Our rating: False
The advertisement isn't new. Harris posted it on social media in 2019 during the Democratic primary race ahead of the 2020 presidential election.
Full fact check: Video shows Kamala Harris ad during Democratic primary race in 2019
The claim: Joe Biden resigned
Our rating: False
President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential race but did not resign from office. He said he intends to fulfill his term.
Full fact check: Joe Biden dropped out of presidential race but is finishing term
Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or e-newspaper here .
USA TODAY is a verified signatory of the International Fact-Checking Network, which requires a demonstrated commitment to nonpartisanship, fairness and transparency. Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Meta .
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Biden exit, Harris entry spur flurry of false claims: Fact check roundup
Most Popular
Comments / 0