Over the past few days social media users have been sharing a photograph of Vice-President Kamala Harris with convicted sex offender and billionaire Jeffrey Epstein. The photo, which is being claimed to be taken a few years back, shows Harris and the late Epstein standing next to each other and smiling.
Since then many have been trying to find out if Harris like several other big names had links with Epstein, who was found dead in prison in New York in August 2019, while awaiting sex trafficking charges. However, truth is that the photo is fake and a result of digital editing.
The Origin of the Hoax
In late August, a photograph started getting circulated on social media that shows Harris and Epstein standing next to each other at some event. Those who started making the photo viral were primarily critics of Harris and the Democratic Party. These included names like Irene Armendariz-Jackson, a Republican candidate for Texas' 16th U.S. House district. Armendariz-Jackson was among the first few people to post the photo on August 25, along with the caption "Yikes!"
Given that Armendariz-Jackson is a credible name many took the photograph seriously. Soon it went viral and even many of Harris' admirers started doubting of the vice-president had at some point have links with Epstein.
However, it didn't take long to understand that the photo is fake although whoever photoshopped it did it to perfection. However, buy that time the photo had gone viral and many started believing in what was presented to them. Several other versions of the photograph soon made its way to social media.
What's the Truth
Fact is that the photo is partly real but that's only the part where Harris is seen. The photo of Harris was taken at an event at The Broad, an art museum in Los Angeles, in September 2015. The photo was actually taken by a Getty Images photographer Jerod Harris. Although this part is real, the man actually standing next to Harris in the original photo is none other than her husband, Doug Emhoff.
The person who digitally edited it smartly superimposed Epstein's photo on Emhoff's body. Whereas, Epstein's photo seems to have been cut from his July 2006 arrest photo, taken by the Palm Beach Sheriff's Office in Florida.
These two photos were actually interchanged changed and Epstein's face was placed next to Harris. Epstein was arrested on a charge of solicitation of prostitution, and later pleaded guilty to that charge, as well as solicitation of a minor for prostitution. However, he was found dead in his cell in 2019.
Hence the photo is nothing but fake.
