No, Kamala Harris wasn’t wearing these audio earrings

Following past night’s statement betwixt Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, respective users connected X homed successful connected the Vice President’s earrings — speculating that she was utilizing them to get her talking points. Echoing a agelong past of governmental conspiracy theories, they claimed she wore the Nova H1 Audio Earrings, which treble arsenic wireless earpieces. But anyone who looks intimately capable tin archer they’re not the same.

The Nova H1 Audio earrings were announced past twelvemonth arsenic portion of a Kickstarter campaign. They diagnostic existent pearls that fell a brace of wireless speakers, which transmit audio up and into your ears. They’re besides astir surely not what Harris was wearing.

To commencement with, beyond the ample pearls connected some Harris’ earrings and the Nova H1 Audio Earrings, determination are wide ocular differences. The Nova H1 Audio Earrings diagnostic a overmuch thicker hoop, portion Harris’ earrings precise intelligibly person 2 bladed loops that wrapper astir her earlobe. Harris appears to beryllium wearing Tiffany South Sea Pearl Earrings, arsenic previously identified by the tract What Kamala Wore. Susan E. Kelley, the writer down the style-tracking blog, confirmed to The Verge that Harris has been spotted wearing these aforesaid Tiffany earrings for months.

The Harris run declined to comment, and Tiffany didn’t instantly instrumentality an email from The Verge.

For another, it’s not wide if the Nova H1 Audio Earrings ever made it into the hands of backers. Some comments connected the Kickstarter run from past twelvemonth telephone it a “scam” and inquire if they’ll ever get their wealth back. The earrings aren’t for merchantability connected the company’s website, either. Icebach Sound Solutions, the institution down them, didn’t respond to a petition for comment.

Despite the evident differences, conspiracy theorists are leaning into the mentation — and truthful is Icebach. The institution updated its homepage with a graphic for the 2024 statesmanlike predetermination and a caption that says a “special edition” of the earrings for statesmanlike debates (arguably the lone edition, since you can’t bid thing else) volition soon beryllium “available for everyone.” In a now-deleted station connected LinkedIn, Icebach Sound Solutions CEO Malte Iversen besides reposted a communicative astir the claim, saying “We tin neither corroborate nor deny.”

This is far from the archetypal time that Republicans and right-wing conspiracy theorists person dispersed claims astir Democrats wearing earpieces. In 2016, Hillary Clinton was accused of wearing a ligament during her 2016 statesmanlike statement performance. Trump pushed akin claims against President Joe Biden successful 2020. If Harris were wearing earring speakers, she’d person recovered a somewhat much stylish solution — but, again, there’s perfectly nary denotation she did.