The elections in the United States of America (USA) are a topic to which both the media and the public have always paid great attention. The current election, in which Kamala Harris and Donald Trump will face off, is the most closely followed to date in our region.
This is not surprising given everything that has happened in recent months – from Joe Biden stepping down and passing the candidacy to Kamala Harris, to the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, and the extreme weather events facing some parts of America. Many also recall Trump’s previous term and already know what to expect if he returns to the White House.
While pre-election polls are analyzed, and the winner speculated, one thing is clear – in the former Yugoslav region, fake narratives are dominating, attacking Kamala Harris and the Democrats while favoring Republicans and Trump.
Attacks on the Democratic Candidate – Same Story, Different Target
The fake narratives aimed at discrediting Kamala Harris are similar to those used to attack her when she was part of Joe Biden’s administration.
The anti-vaccine narrative, targeting the Biden administration since the start of the pandemic due to its approach to vaccination, has been relentless.
Viral videos have resurfaced on social media, showing alleged fake vaccinations of the current Vice President. This misinformation trend about “fake vaccinations” was prominent during the early stages of mass COVID-19 immunization. Although the claim that Harris faked her vaccination has been debunked many times, it is being reused for this disinformation campaign.
Kamala Harris has also been linked to another well-known fake narrative – an association with Jeffrey Epstein. Poorly generated photos of Harris with the notorious sex offender circulated on social media, despite obvious manipulations.
Predictably, conspiracy theorists tried to suggest that Harris supports population reduction. A slip of hers was reused, leading social media users to read once more that she intends to reduce the population rather than pollution – which was her actual intent. Within this pervasive narrative, there were also claims that she allegedly advised young people not to have children due to climate change.
In addition to these “standard” narratives, the public was also exposed to disinformation claiming Harris supports the legalization of heroin and cocaine, though this actually concerns the decriminalization of these drugs; claims that she provided a recipe for roasting babies; that she is withdrawing from the presidential race; and that she uses a Nazi slogan in her campaign.
Trump and Assassination – A Perfect Pair for Conspiracy Theories
From the moment a bullet, fired by Thomas Matthew Crooks, grazed Donald Trump’s ear, social networks and obscure portals erupted: from speculations that the assailant was an Antifa activist from Italy to photoshopped smiles on Trump’s security detail, to fabricated connections between the assailant and BlackRock. Naturally, there were also those who immediately claimed the whole event was staged.
It is notable that a large number of tabloids in the region published claims in September about a new, non-existent assassination attempt on Trump. Reports circulated about explosives found near the location where the Republican candidate was set to hold a rally – a claim with no substance.
Lastly, there was an inevitable pop-culture-based fake narrative – that the Simpsons had predicted it all once again.
Milton vs. Donald
However, what has marked the campaign in recent times are claims that hurricanes are being created in the U.S. with unknown technology to ensure Trump loses the election.
While residents of Florida feared Hurricane Milton, which hit the state on October 9, conspiracy theorists claimed that such a storm “surely didn’t appear by coincidence just before the American election.” These posts spread while ignoring the fact that Hurricane Milton is a natural phenomenon that had been tracked since its formation, with a projected path across Florida.
One of the most famous flat-earthers in our region – musician Vlado Georgiev – also spread this narrative, alongside Saša Borojević, a well-known conspiracy theorist and frequent guest on Serbian tabloid television.
In conclusion, the examples provided clearly show that during the “warm-up” for the American elections in our region, very few instances of disinformation target Donald Trump, while Kamala Harris remains a daily subject of conspiracy theories and fake news.
The rare examples where false narratives targeted Trump were related to the assassination attempt on him, where social media users, as usual, claimed without evidence that it was a staged event.
