Fact Check: Did Kamala Harris use teleprompter during her interview with Oprah Winfrey?

FARMINGTON HILLS, MICHIGAN: Vice President Kamala Harris sat for a livestream rally with talk show host Oprah Winfrey on September 19, where the Democratic presidential nominee touched on a multitude of topics.

Harris, who often was criticized for her lack of media appearances by her Republican opponent, Donald Trump, and his running mate, JD Vance, delved into critical matters like reproductive rights, immigration, and gun control at the event 'Unite for America' in Michigan.

However, the livestream garnered attention over the claim that the vice president relied on a teleprompter during her interview with Winfrey.

Kamala Harris accused of using teleprompter during live stream with Oprah Winfrey

Journalist and podcast host Nick Sortor claimed on X (formerly Twitter) that Harris was using a teleprompter to read her lines at the Unite for America live stream.

Sharing a 3-second clip from the event where the VP was talking cheerfully with Winfrey, Sortor wrote, "WOW! Apparently Kamala Harris had a freaking TELEPROMPTER during her 'interview' with Oprah."

"Scamala Harris is a fraud!" he added.

The accusation stemmed from a teleprompter running lines on Harris' right side. The post garnered more than 13 million views and nearly 80K likes so far.

In another post, Sortor claimed, "The first several lines of the teleprompter were part of Kamala's final statement. She was reading off a teleprompter."

False: Kamala Harris did not read lines from teleprompter during Oprah Winfrey's interview

The claim Harris relied on a teleprompter during the live stream was soon debunked by the VP's supporters, who pointed out that the device was for Winfrey and not the interviewee.

Users on X deemed Sortor's accusation against Harris false on community notes.

The teleprompter was feeding lines to Winfrey as she ended the virtual live event, according to The Daily Beast.

Internet personality Brian Krassenstein came in support of Harris, debunking the claim. He noted that a comparison of the original interview with the sound matched the words on the teleprompter with what Winfrey was saying. Moreover, the device was positioned outside of the vice president's line of sight, proving she couldn't read from it.

In addition, the community notes on X said, "The teleprompter is out of Harris' line of sight, and all the texts visible on it in a suspiciously cropped video is either said verbatim or paraphrased closely by Oprah." It also included the YouTube link to the entire event, noting the edited snippet was a "deliberate misinformation."

The 90-minute event held less than 45 days from the November 5 election day, delved into critical issues shaping the 2024 race.

Harris also made a joke about her being a gun owner that later backfired on social media.

"If somebody breaks in my house, they’re getting shot. Sorry. Probably shouldn’t have said that. But my staff will deal with that later," Harris said to Winfrey.