What's Up With People Accusing Kamala Harris Of Wearing Earbuds Disguised As Earrings To The Debate? The 'Nova Earbuds Or Tiffany Earrings' Conspiracy Theory Explained

In meme terms, some could say Donald Trump stole the show at the recent U.S. Presidential Debate, launching several catchphrases and meme trends with his bizarre statements about "transgender operations on illegal aliens" and his assertion that he has a "concept of a plan" ready to give Americans better healthcare.

But his supporters were adamant in criticizing Kamala Harris's performance at the debate as well, even accusing her of secretly having her lines fed to her via earbuds disguised as earphones.

The conspiracy theory and rumor may fail to account for Trump's own talking points at the debate, but it still spread like fire among the online right-wing community.

So how did such an outlandish rumor begin, and where did the idea of earrings-as-hidden-earbuds get started? Here's a recap of the "Kamala Harris Nova Earbuds or Tiffany earrings conspiracy theory."

What Are Nova Earbuds, And Why Did People Accuse Kamala Harris of Wearing Them?

Nova Earbuds is a brand of experimental and now discontinued brand of earbuds, disguised to look like a pair of simple pearl earrings. They were made by a Germany-based tech company that previously started a Kickstarter campaign to fund the production of their signature pearl hidden earbud earrings.

Sometime after the debate on September 10th, several vocal Trump supporters on the Elon Musk-owned Twitter, now called X, began to share photos of Kamala Harris and Nova Earbuds together, insinuating that Harris was using the niche technology to get ahead in the debate.

The rumor was first posted online by anti-vaxx conservative influencer @TTAVOfficial, who said Harris's ruse was "busted" in their post.

How Did The Rumor About Harris's Earbuds Spread Online?

Soon after the conspiracy theory about Harris wearing Nova Earbuds gained traction, several Instagram users made comments in reference to the news on Nova's Instagram posts.

Then, more prominent conservative influencers began to latch on to the story. For example, Laura Loomer, a vocal Trump supporter and ally, reposted the theory on her X profile, writing, "Interesting choice of earrings tonight, ⁦@KamalaHarris."

Notorious right-wing talk show host and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones wasn't far behind, posting a review of the earrings with a photo of Harris, writing, "Look at these Earpieces that look like earrings. Looks a lot like what Cackling Kamala was wearing. What do you think?"

Did Anyone Push Back On The Rumor About Harris's Earrings?

In a strange turn of events, it was Ian Miles Cheong, a Malaysian ex-journalist turned right-wing American political commentator, who pointed out that Harris wasn't really wearing Nova Earbuds but was actually wearing a pair of fancy Tiffany & Co. pearl earrings.

But this revelation didn't do much to stop the critics of Harris, who then began to attack her for wearing overly expensive jewelry that they said made her seem "out of touch" with the common man.

However, not everyone agreed with this sentiment. A quote tweet in Harris's defense gathered over 500,000 likes after X user @revhowardarson said, "I think that $800 earrings are a perfectly normal thing for a successful late-career professional to wear to one of the most important events of her life."

For the full history of the Kamala Harris Nova Earbuds or Tiffany earrings conspiracy theory, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.