False claims that Vice President Kamala Harris was wearing clip-on audio headphones disguised as pearl earrings circulated on social media after Tuesday night’s vote presidential debatepromoted by prominent accounts on X and other platforms.

Social media users, including conspiracy theorist and far-right activist Laura Loomer, claimed that Harris’ earrings were Nova H1 audio earphones, which are designed to resemble pearl earrings. Loomer’s post had been viewed more than 1.3 million times as of Wednesday morning.

The earbuds, however, do not look the same as Harris’ earrings. A photo from the original product review shows that the Nova H1 earbuds sit around the earlobe, while Harris’ earrings dangle and are meant for pierced earlobes.

The earrings Harris wore appear to be a pair of Tiffany & Co. South Sea Pearl Earrings from the Hardwear collection. Harris has worn the gold earrings to previous events, including an Aug. 6 rally in Pennsylvania and the White House Juneteenth concert this summer.

Earphones are not allowed in presidential debates. In the ABC debate, candidates were not allowed to bring notes or props onto the stage. CBS News reached out to the Harris campaign about the claims.

Google data showed that searches for “nova h1” and “nova earrings” spiked Wednesday morning. The earrings are billed on the Kickstarter campaign as “the planet’s first clip-on earbuds,” and their makers say the technology is embedded in real pearls, placed on the earlobe to project sound into the ear canal with integrated high-end microphones.

A History of Earplug Claims

The claim that Trump’s opponent wore an earpiece has been repeated after multiple presidential debates. Social media users claimed, without evidence, that President Biden wore an earpiece when he debated Trump in the NBC presidential debate in June.

In 2020, Trump’s campaign ran Facebook ads accusing Biden of wearing an earpiece during the September 2020 debate, and the claims were also widely shared on social media. Biden’s campaign denied the claims, and high-quality images from the debate showed that the alleged wires were likely creases in his clothing and a watch or rosary beads.

In 2016, the conspiracy theory website True Pundit and others falsely claimed that Hillary Clinton wore an earpiece to receive “stealth communications” during an NBC News forum. Fact-checkers found these claims to be false.

The claims aren’t necessarily limited to right-wing conspiracies. In 2004, the Internet was abuzz with rumors that a rectangular bulge between then-President George W. Bush’s shoulders was a radio receiver for strategist Karl Rove. A campaign spokesman later told The New York Times that it was “probably a wrinkle in that part of his suit jacket, or a wrinkle in the fabric.”