Getting Facts Straight: 10 Must-Read Examples of US Election-Related Viral Misinformation in 2024

The rise of misinformation and disinformation is increasingly influencing public perception and global events, presenting significant challenges.

The 2024 US Presidential election is just one example of democratic processes vulnerable to its influence – and at WebPurify we’re rigorously training our moderators and working with our clients to stem the spread of false information online, as well as offering strategies and solutions to manage it.

By understanding these tactics, trust and safety professionals can better prepare to identify and mitigate the impact of misleading information during the election cycle.

Below are 10 examples of misinformation narratives we’ve enforced so far. To help identify example of US election-related misinformation like this, WebPurify works in partnership with NewsGuard, a service that rates the credibility of news and information websites, to help identify and address misinformation. NewsGuard provides trust ratings for online content, flagging unreliable sources and promoting accurate information across the web.

You can read more about NewsGuard’s vital service and how it’s combating false narratives online.

• See also 10 key considerations for platforms preparing for the 2024 elections

1. The Donald Trump assassination attempt was staged

Former US President and 2024 Republican candidate Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The attacker, Thomas Matthew Crooks, fired eight rounds from a nearby rooftop using an AR 15-style rifle, injuring Trump and killing an audience member while critically injuring two others.

Trump was hit in the upper right ear and quickly taken off stage by Secret Service agents. He was treated at a local hospital and released in a stable condition the same day. The incident led to widespread condemnation and calls for increased security for political candidates. President Joe Biden ordered an independent review of the security lapses, and the director of the Secret Service, Kimberly Cheatle, resigned following the event.

False Claim: The attack was staged, planned, or coordinated by the Biden administration, the “deep state” or even by Trump himself in a play for sympathy and to tee-up a defiant, viral photo opportunity.

Reality: The assassination attempt was real. The claims of staging or political conspiracy are false.

Impact: This false narrative erodes public trust in institutions, creates political polarization and unrest, and could incite violence.

2. JD Vance couch misinformation

A bizarre and false rumor began circulating on social media, claiming that JD Vance, 2024 Vice Presidential candidate alongside Donald Trump, had admitted to a sexual act involving a couch in his memoir Hillbilly Elegy.

This rumor originated from a joke post on social media that falsely attributed a passage to Vance’s book, describing a sexual act involving a latex glove and couch cushions. The fabricated passage was claimed to be from pages 179-181 of the book, but no such content exists in the actual memoir. The joke quickly went viral, leading to a wave of memes and further spread of the misinformation.

Major media outlets, including the Associated Press and Snopes, debunked the rumor, but the initial joke and subsequent fact-checking ironically fueled its spread even more.

False Claim: JD Vance admitted to an inappropriate sex act involving a couch in his memoir.

Reality: The passage in question does not exist in JD Vance’s book.

Impact: This misinformation affects public perception of a political candidate and can damage reputations through humor-based disinformation.

3. Trump false claim that Kamala Harris used AI to make rally crowd bigger

Former President and 2024 candidate Donald Trump falsely claimed that Vice President Kamala Harris’ rally in Detroit, Michigan, on August 7, 2024, had used AI technology to artificially inflate crowd numbers. Trump suggested on his Truth Social platform that the large crowd depicted in the photo was fake, stating that “there was nobody there” and that the campaign had used generative AI to create the image of the crowd.

This claim was quickly debunked by multiple news outlets and digital forensics experts who verified the authenticity of the crowd size, with local news reports confirming that around 15,000 people attended the rally. The Harris campaign also provided an original version of the photo to the press, showing that it had not been altered using AI technology.

False Claim: The crowd at Kamala Harris’s rally was artificially inflated using AI technology.

Reality: The crowd size was verified to be approximately 15,000, with no evidence of AI manipulation.

Impact: These false claims aim to discredit political opponents, potentially influencing voter perception and trust in campaign activities, and the apparent success or lack thereof of campaigns at any given time.

4. Elon Musk & Donald Trump conversation on X

In a conversation between Donald Trump and Elon Musk on X (formerly Twitter), Trump repeated several inaccurate and misleading claims, many of which he shared before. These included falsehoods about crime rates, immigration policies, and the 2020 US presidential election’s legitimacy. He and his campaign have continually repeated such misinformation many times in the past. The misleading claims include:

• Crime: Trump claimed it’s through the roof, which is false – crime is in many respects declining, particularly violent crime relative to recent 2020 peaks. Trump also said that Harris wants to release all the prisoners that are in detention – this is false.
• Immigration: Claimed that US President Joe Biden and VP Harris are letting in millions of illegal immigrants per month – this is false.
  2020 Election Legitimacy: Repeated the lie that the election was rigged.
• Climate Change: Stated that “nuclear warming” is a greater threat than global warming, a misleading characterization. Further, Trump shared false information about the pace of sea level rise.

The conversation was widely circulated on social media, further amplifying the misinformation despite fact-checkers working to debunk the claims. For example, Trump’s assertion that millions of illegal immigrants are entering the US each month is not supported by any reliable data.

False Claims: Multiple inaccurate claims, including exaggerated crime rates, false immigration statistics, and lies about the legitimacy of the 2020 election.

Reality: Fact-checkers consistently refute Trump’s statements on these issues.

Impact: Despite fact checkers’ best efforts, in many cases the “damage is done” and falsehoods such as these mislead the public and shape voter behavior in the 2024 election, undermining trust in political institutions.

5. Trump promotes AI-generated images to falsely suggest Taylor Swift endorsed him

Donald Trump shared AI-generated images on his social media platform, Truth Social, falsely implying that pop star Taylor Swift had endorsed his presidential campaign. The images, which depicted Swift dressed as Uncle Sam and the message “Taylor wants you to vote for Donald Trump,” were part of a broader attempt to associate her fanbase with Trump’s political movement. Trump also shared photos of women wearing “Swifties for Trump” T-shirts, further implying that Swift and her fanbase were supporting his campaign. Trump captioned the post with “I accept!” – a statement that many interpreted as an attempt to legitimize the false endorsement.

Swift, however, has been openly critical of Trump and recently endorsed Kamala Harris and Tim Walz for the 2024 election. The use of AI to create misleading endorsements represents a worrying trend in synthetic and manipulated media. For this reason, WebPurify developed an AI image moderation model designed to accurately identify synthetic media.

False Claim: Taylor Swift and her fanbase endorse or are partial to Donald Trump for the 2024 Presidential Election.

Reality: Taylor Swift did not endorse Trump and, in fact, has recently endorsed Harris. The images shared by Trump were AI-generated.

Impact: AI-generated misinformation can distort public perception and mislead voters, especially when associated with high-profile individuals like Swift.

6. Misinformation Claiming Kamala Harris Adopted a Nazi Slogan

In August 2024, misinformation surfaced claiming that Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Tim Walz, had adopted the Nazi-era slogan “Strength through Joy” (“Kraft durch Freude”). The claim originated from conservative and pro-Russian accounts, drawing false connections between Harris’ use of the word “joy” at campaign rallies and the Nazi phrase. One widely-circulated video on social media showed Harris smiling with text overlays misrepresenting her campaign messaging.

False Claim: Kamala Harris and Tim Walz adopted the Nazi slogan “Strength through Joy” for their 2024 campaign.

Reality: While Harris and Walz have used the word “joy” in speeches, they have not adopted the Nazi slogan “Strength through Joy.” The connection is entirely false.

Impact: This misinformation distorts public perceptions of Harris and Walz, linking their campaign to harmful historical associations, which could influence voter opinions and trust.

7. AI Video Falsely Accuses Kamala Harris of a Hit-and-Run in 2011

In September 2024, pro-Russian accounts began circulating an AI-generated video claiming that Kamala Harris was involved in a hit-and-run car accident in San Francisco in June 2011, while serving as California’s Attorney General. The video, hosted on a fake website, features a woman alleging that she was the victim of this accident at age 13. However, no evidence supports the claim that Harris was involved in any hit-and-run, and the video has been identified as part of a Russian-sponsored disinformation campaign.

False Claim: Kamala Harris was involved in a hit-and-run car accident in 2011.

Reality: There is no evidence linking Harris to any hit-and-run incident in 2011. The AI-generated video is part of a coordinated misinformation effort.

Impact: This deepfake and false narrative are designed to damage Harris’s credibility and sway voters away from her candidacy by spreading misleading information.

8. False Claims That Kamala Harris Wore an Earpiece During the Presidential Debate

Immediately following the US presidential debate on September 10, 2024, misinformation began spreading, primarily from conservative social media users and Russian state media, claiming that Kamala Harris wore an earpiece disguised as pearl earrings. These false claims suggested that Harris was fed responses throughout the debate, attempting to undermine her performance.

False Claim: Kamala Harris wore an earpiece during the debate to receive answers.

Reality: There is no evidence that Harris used any form of communication device during the debate. The claim that her earrings were an earpiece is false.

Impact: This misinformation aims to discredit Harris’s debate performance and influence voter perception by suggesting she required external assistance.

9. Second Assassination Attempt on Donald Trump

On September 15, 2024, a second assassination attempt targeted Donald Trump at his Mar-A-Lago golf club. The suspect, Ryan Routh, an ex-Trump supporter, was detained by authorities, with no injuries or deaths reported. Following the incident, Trump stated, “Because of this Communist Left Rhetoric, the bullets are flying, and it will only get worse!” – implying that Kamala Harris and Joe Biden were to blame. Misinformation and conspiracy theories quickly emerged around the event.

False Claims: The assassination attempt was staged; the suspect was someone other than Ryan Routh; the attack was conducted by Russia, Ukraine, the Harris campaign, a Democrat, or an immigrant.

Reality: The assassination attempt was real, and the suspect, Ryan Routh, was arrested. No credible evidence supports claims that the event was staged or involved any other individuals or entities.

Impact: These false narratives aim to disrupt the election process by promoting misleading claims that sow division and could incite violence.

10. Misinformation Surrounding Trump’s Project 2025 Agenda

Project 2025 is a policy agenda proposed by the Heritage Foundation and 100 other conservative organizations, aimed at guiding a future conservative president. The plan spans over 900 pages and outlines significant changes to government structure, immigration, and other key issues. However, misinformation about Project 2025 has quickly surfaced, often distorting its contents and its potential connection to Donald Trump.

False Claims:

• It proposes cutting or eliminating Social Security: This is false. Project 2025 does not mention any proposed changes to Social Security. The claim gained traction after Kamala Harris falsely stated that the plan includes cuts to Social Security and Medicare during a speech.
• It proposes banning Muslims from entering the United States: This is false. There is no mention of a Muslim ban or religion-based entry restrictions in Project 2025.
• It proposes that women should be forced to carry “period passports” to track their menstrual cycles: This is false. Menstruation is not mentioned in the document, and this narrative originated from a satire site.
• It says, “The only valid family is a working father married to a stay-at-home mother and their children”: This is misleading. While Project 2025 states that families with a married mother, father, and their children are the foundation of society, it does not say women should not work.
• Donald Trump supports Project 2025: This is potentially misleading. Trump has not officially endorsed the plan and has distanced himself from it, although many of its authors worked in his administration. In fact, one of the plan’s authors, Russell Vought, was secretly recorded by the British non-profit group Centre for Climate Reporting. In the video, Vought claims that Trump publicly disavows Project 2025 because he needs to distance himself from it to win the election, but behind the scenes he says Trump is very supportive of their work and has given it his blessing.

Reality: Project 2025 focuses on four main policy aims: restoring the family as the centerpiece of American life, dismantling the administrative state, defending national sovereignty, and securing individual rights. It does not propose any cuts to Social Security, nor does it include a Muslim ban or “period passports.” While there is some overlap between Trump’s past policies and Project 2025, Trump has not explicitly endorsed it.

Impact: These false claims mislead voters about the contents and potential consequences of Project 2025, which could influence voter perception ahead of the 2024 election.