U.S. President Joe Biden's State of the Union speech came with its set of absurd claims but the one related to vide-president Kamala Harris has raised a debate on social media. Several social media users have been claiming that the skin in the neck area of Harris appeared to be looser and was rolling off which were actually signs of a mask slipping off.
This has sparked wild internet theories including one that it wasn't Harris but someone else sitting behind Biden wearing Harris' mask. This wild theory has left several social media users confused, with many believing that it was indeed someone else wearing a mask of Harris and not the vide-president.
Wild Claims
A TikTok video clip was circulating on Wednesday, a day after the State of Union, that shows the skin in the neck area of Harris appearing to be excessively loose. The clip came with the claim that Harris didn't attend the State of the Union and someone else was sitting behind Biden wearing her mask.
"Who Do They Have Wearing The Kamala MASK?" a Twitter user wrote posting a video that said, "what is this creature that doesn't breathe and has fish gills [...]."
The video first posted on Twitter soon went viral on TikTok. The videos on TikTok also made the same claim with one user saying she looked "reptilian" and her neck was "peeling."
However, to put it in simple words the claim is completely weird, false and baseless. The skin in Harris' neck area was neither peeling nor was someone wearing a mask of Harris which was coming off to reveal someone else sitting in her place.
There are several other videos in circulation that are from authentic sources and none of them have made such claims. The videos, at various points, show Harris and the skin in her neck area are nothing but natural wrinkles and lines as she is seen clapping and standing up after Biden's State of the Union speech.
Natural Wrinkles
Several photographs show Harris and her skin looks normal, with natural wrinkles. Wrinkles are normal and develop with age. Harris is in her 50s and the minimum wrinkles that can be seen are normal.
So, Harris definitely is not a reptile with gills. The angle of the head and camera in some cases, as well as her own aging, are the main causes of the appearance of drooping skin around the neck.
The weird claim seems to be an example of the "body double" conspiracy theory we have previously come across. The assumption that renowned persons in public use body doubles or clones are typically supported by this shoddy video or altered photographs.
The claim in this case also makes use of body shaming to make it appear as though more evil forces are at work. Hence the claim is not only weird but completely false and baseless as there is no such proof that Harris uses body doubles.
