Social Media Posts Twist Harris Campaign’s ‘Joyful’ Message

3 months ago 53

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Quick Take

Vice President Kamala Harris has referred to participants in the Democratic presidential campaign as “joyful warriors,” and “joy” has been a theme at the party’s rallies and convention. Instagram posts, however, have falsely claimed the phrase “strength through joy,” which echoes a Nazi-era program, has become a Harris campaign slogan.

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Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, embraced a theme of “joy” and optimism early in their campaign.

At the Aug. 6 rally in Philadelphia where Harris introduced Walz as her vice presidential choice, Walz said to Harris, “Thank you for bringing back the joy.” The next day, at a rally in Detroit, Walz used the word repeatedly: “Our next president brings the joy. She emanates the joy.” Harris herself said in Detroit, “And understand, in this fight, we are joyful warriors — because while fighting for a brighter future may take hard work, we all here know hard work is good work.”

The word “joy” also seemed to capture the mood of many participants at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, where Oprah Winfrey told the delegates, “Let us choose truth, let us choose honor, and let us choose joy.” The word “joy” was used dozens of times by DNC speakers.

But some social media posts have distorted the Democrats’ “joyful” message and falsely linked it to a Nazi-era program in Germany.

An Aug. 25 Instagram reel begins with a narrator saying, “I’m sure by now you’re heard Kamala Harris running around the country. Joy! We’re gonna bring back joy! Strength through joy! I want you to Google ‘strength through joy.'” The reel then displays a Wikipedia page and a webpage on German history that describe “Strength Through Joy” as an organization in Nazi Germany that was a division of the national labor organization.

An Instagram post on Aug. 27 reads, “Homework assignment. I need everyone to Google; Kamalas slogan, ‘Strength through joy.’ After you’ve done this let me know. You won’t believe it. You’ve got to see it.”

But the social media posts do not cite any specific example of when the phrase from the 1930s Nazi organization was used by Harris or her campaign.

We could find no use of the phrase “strength through joy” as a slogan or message in the vice president’s remarks or rallies. The prominent slogan on the Harris campaign homepage is, “Let’s win this.” The official campaign merchandise includes a variety of phrases, including, “Yes she can” and “When we fight, we win.”

Editor’s note: FactCheck.org is one of several organizations working with Facebook to debunk misinformation shared on social media. Our previous stories can be found here. Facebook has no control over our editorial content.