In an attempt to portray Democratic vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris as anti-Christian, viral social media posts claimed she called American churches "propaganda centers." However, the quotes attributed to the Senator from California have been found to be fake.
The posts that were widely shared across various social media platforms warned Christian voters against voting for Joe Biden and his running mate Harris because they held "views against churches/pastors." The false statements have been doing rounds on the internet since the start of October.
"Biden's running mate Kamala Harris this morning said that, 'American churches are PROPAGANDA CENTERS for intolerant homophobic, xenophobic vitriol' and she called American pastors, 'knuckle-dragging disseminators of intolerance and enemies of social justice' Think about that," the post read, claiming that Harris did not hide her "disdain & contempt for the church. "What christian, in their right mind, would vote for ppl who hold these views against churches/pastors?" it further stated.
A spokesperson for Harris' Senate office rubbished the claims and said the quotes were falsely attributed to her, according to the Associated Press. Furthermore, there was no documentation that Harris made the statements — which would be highly controversial for any officeholder to say, much less a vice presidential candidate.
Misquoting Joe Biden
The post also wrongly quoted Biden saying that "those who hold to traditional views and intolerant Christian beliefs are dregs of society." This quote from Biden was first circulated by President Donald Trump's campaign on Twitter to show that the Democrat called Trump supporters "dregs of society." However, Biden was referring to white supremacist and racist groups such as the Ku Klux Klan who supported the President.
Ever since her vice presidential bid, rumors against Harris shot up with some claiming she supported defunding the police and even called Biden a "racist." Previously, the Trump campaign attempted to paint Biden as a white supremacist by showing that the traditional OK sign he made during an interview was actually a "white power" sign.
However, all the claims have been found to be fake.
