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FACT BRIEF

Did Kamala Harris once pose for red carpet photos with Jeffrey Epstein?

By Sarah Thompson
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NO

On September 17, 2015, Kamala Harris and her husband Douglas Emhoff were photographed together at a black-tie dinner for the opening of the Broad Museum in Los Angeles. The original photo from the inaugural event at the museum is in the Getty Image library and has appeared in other publications.

A photo circulating on social media has been altered to replace Emhoff's head with a commonly used photo of Jeffrey Epstein.

The red carpet image has appeared in various publications since 2015 and illustrated a bustle.com article in January 2021, titled, "Kamala Harris Has Perfected The Fine Art Of Power Dressing."

The photo of Epstein used to alter the picture on social media has functioned as a generic identifying headshot since at least April 2008. It was also used in an FBI poster announcing Epstein had been charged with sex trafficking underage girls.

See a full discussion of this at Lead Stories
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Getty Images The Broad Museum Black Tie Inaugural Dinner
Bustle Kamala Harris Has Perfected The Fine Art Of Power Dressing
US Attorney, Southern District of New York Tweet with headshot of Jeffrey Epstein
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Lead Stories
Lead Stories is a fact checking and debunking website at the intersection of big data and journalism that launched in 2015. It scouts for trending stories, images, videos and posts that contain false information in order to fact check them as quickly as possible. It actively monitors the fake-news ecosystem and doesn’t wait for reader tips or reports before getting started on a story.
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.