A photo of U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has been repeatedly shared in Chinese-language posts purporting to show that there was no American flag hoisted at their rally in early August.
But the claim is false. A review of live footage of the rally shows that there were at least two American flags flying at the event.
The claim was shared on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Aug. 7, 2024.
“These two extreme left-wing communists didn’t even have an American flag at the rally,” reads the claim.
It was shared alongside a photo that shows Harris and Walz standing in front of a crowd.
The claim began to circulate online after Walz was announced on Aug. 6 as Democratic nominee Harris’ running mate for the 2024 U.S. presidential election.
But the claim is false. A reverse image search shows that the photo was taken at the duo’s initial campaign event in Pennsylvania on Aug. 6.
A separate search found a video clip that recorded the event published on YouTube by Fox News.
A review of the video shows that there are at least two American flags hoisted at the event.
Airport claim
Two photos of Harris and Walz getting off a plane were shared by Chinese-speaking users on Weibo alongside a claim that they were digitally altered to add to the crowd, but in fact no one showed up to greet the duo.
But the claim is false. A google reverse image search found the photos were taken at the duo’s rally in Detroit on Aug. 7.
A separate search found the footage of the event published on YouTube by PBS, Detroit Free Press and FOX News.
A review of those videos shows that the crowd were genuine.
Similar claims were debunked by other fact-checking organizations including Reuters.
Translated by Shen Ke. Edited by Shen Ke and Taejun Kang.
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