copenlu/druid huggingface dataset:
Claim: Tim Walz “changed the Minnesota flag so it could resemble the Somalian flag.” (X post, 2024-08-05)
Evidence (2024-08-08): Far-right trolls are claiming that Minnesota’s new flag was intentionally designed to resemble that of Somalia. The far right is attempting to smear Governor Tim Walz by claiming that he replaced the old Minnesota state flag with one that is designed to resemble the flag of Somalia. [...] The new flag bears very little resemblance to Somalia’s flag, though both use shades of blue and a star. The star on Minnesota’s flag has eight points compared to Somalia’s five-pointed star, and the shades of blue are different.
Claim: Tim Walz “changed the Minnesota flag so it could resemble the Somalian flag.” (X post, 2024-08-05)
Evidence (2024-08-06): Kamala Harris has picked Minnesota Governor cTim Walz is the governor who just changed the Minnesota flag to resemble the Somalian flag. as her running mate, CNN reported on Tuesday morning. [...] Graham Allen, one of the X users, shared a throwback video of Harris' VP candidate and captioned it as: "Tim Walz is the governor who just changed the Minnesota flag to resemble the Somalian flag." [...] "Governor Tim Walz encouraged and supported the 2020 BLM riots which saw Minnesota on fire for months on end. He ignited and presided over the destruction and chaos," they wrote in another post.
Claim: Tim Walz “changed the Minnesota flag so it could resemble the Somalian flag.” (X post, 2024-08-05)
Evidence (2024-01-29): Gov. Tim Walz responds to Republican criticisms of new state flag [...] "While Republicans are going to be talking about this, I am going to be building roads, bridges and water treatment plants," Walz said. "While Republicans talking about this, I am going to be making sure our kids are eating and we're creating job creation. So they can debate it in the legislature, we will see where it goes, but I think any time change comes, I think, a lot of Minnesotans, when they look, our flag looks like 19 other states." [...] Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives Melissa Hortman released a statement late Monday afternoon saying, "We changed the flag for a reason. In addition to it being a poor design, it was offensive to a large number of people. There will not be the votes to delay, reverse or put the flag to a referendum."
Claim: Tim Walz “changed the Minnesota flag so it could resemble the Somalian flag.” (X post, 2024-08-05)
Evidence (2024-08-20): AAP FACTCHECK – US Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz changed his state’s flag to resemble that of Somalia, social media posts claim. [...] "Tim is a big supporter of radical Islam, and even changed his states (sic) flag to resemble the Somali flag," it claims. Comedian and commentator Joe Rogan repeated the claim on his podcast, stating: "He changed the Minnesota state flag to make it look like a Somali flag" (4 minutes 19 seconds).
Claim: Tim Walz “changed the Minnesota flag so it could resemble the Somalian flag.” (X post, 2024-08-05)
Evidence (2024-08-07): As you are no doubt aware, Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday tapped Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) to be her running mate as she seeks the presidency. That led to a flurry of social media disparagements of the newly high-profile governor, including one that burbled up when the new flag was announced: The new Minnesota state flag was somehow meant to evoke Somalia’s, a woke tribute to the state’s large Somali population. [...] The modified design became the official flag of Minnesota in May. Even before then, though, the comparison to Somalia’s flag had been drawn. [...] After Walz was selected by Harris, the idea that the new flag was derived from Somalia’s gained new traction — as did the idea that somehow Walz was the person making the decision. (Again, the choice was made by the committee created under Freiberg’s legislation.) On X, owner Elon Musk offered his familiar "hmm, something to think about" emoji in response to a claim that the flag was related to Somalia’s.
Claim: Tim Walz “changed the Minnesota flag so it could resemble the Somalian flag.” (X post, 2024-08-05)
Evidence (2024-08-09): As Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz vaulted to the national ticket this week as Kamala Harris’ running mate, a curious claim started circulating on social media: that the Democrat had recently redesigned the state’s flag to look like the Somali national flag. Fact check: Tim Walz did not redesign Minnesota’s flag to look like Somalia’s flag [...] "Kamala Harris’s VP choice, Tim Walz, is the governor who just changed the Minnesota flag so it could resemble the Somalian flag," posted Texas resident Philip Anderson on X. "This man has absolutely ZERO LOYALTY to our country, and he says that socialism is a good thing."
Claim: Tim Walz “changed the Minnesota flag so it could resemble the Somalian flag.” (X post, 2024-08-05)
Evidence (2024-08-08): The nexus of many of the early attacks have focused on the conspiracy theory that he changed the state flag of Minnesota to mimic a Somali flag. "Replaced Minnesota flag with Somali flag, loves loves loves Somalis moving into America by planeload," said one anonymous post on the chatboard 4Chan, with an image of Walz at a press conference. "Timmy Somali changed the state flag to look African, lmao," said another post on the same site, which was published following the news of Walz as Harris’s pick. "Dude is a fucking cuck. This is a worse VP pick than even Vance was."
Claim: Tim Walz “changed the Minnesota flag so it could resemble the Somalian flag.” (X post, 2024-08-05)
Evidence (2024-08-07): Among the untruths circulating on social media after Kamala Harris chose Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate was the false claim that Walz changed the Minnesota flag so that it resembles the Somali flag. [...] Prekker said Walz had nothing to do with the creation of the flag, and Somalia had nothing to do with the flag design. [...] "There is no connection to Somalia or any other country, and in complete honesty I didn’t even know Somalia existed before the whole flag debacle," he continued. "Any similarities people want to see are a coincidence. It is a Minnesotan flag, and that is what I designed it for."
Claim: Tim Walz “changed the Minnesota flag so it could resemble the Somalian flag.” (X post, 2024-08-05)
Evidence (2024-08-06): CLAIM: Walz changed the Minnesota flag so that it resembles the Somali flag. [...] Prekker said Walz had nothing to do with the creation of the flag, and Somalia had nothing to do with the flag design. Minnesota is home to the largest Somali population in the U.S. and is home to U.S. Rep. Ilhan Oman, who was born in Somalia and is a member of an informal group of progressive Democratic House members known as The Squad. [...] The Somali flag has a five-point star on a light blue background. "There is no connection to Somalia or any other country, and in complete honesty I didn’t even know Somalia existed before the whole flag debacle. Any similarities people want to see are a coincidence. It is a Minnesotan flag, and that is what I designed it for," Prekker said.
Claim: “Nowhere on her birth certificate does it say that she is BLACK OR AFRICAN. … Kamala Harris is NOT black and never has been.” (Laura Loomer, 2024-07-31)
Evidence (2024-07-31): Kamala Harris’ birth certificate, issued in 1964, does not describe her race. It lists her mother as being from India and lists her "color or race" as Caucasian. It lists her father as being from Jamaica and his "color or race" as Jamaican. Though it doesn’t say so on the certificate, her father, Donald J. Harris, is a Black man. Throughout her public life, Kamala Harris has identified herself as a Black woman who grew up in a multicultural home.
Claim: “Nowhere on her birth certificate does it say that she is BLACK OR AFRICAN. … Kamala Harris is NOT black and never has been.” (Laura Loomer, 2024-07-31)
Evidence (2021-04-30): Kamala Harris’ family did not come from India to Jamaica to exploit Black slaves [...] Kamala Harris’ father, Donald Harris, is Jamaican, and both she and her father identify as Black. Her mother, Shyamala Gopalan, was born and raised in India. Harris’ parents met at the University of California, Berkeley, in the 1960s as graduate students. [...] "Just a reminder. Kamala’s own father said she’s not African-American. In fact, her family from Jamaica were rich Slave Owners!" reads one such post.
Claim: “Nowhere on her birth certificate does it say that she is BLACK OR AFRICAN. … Kamala Harris is NOT black and never has been.” (Laura Loomer, 2024-07-31)
Evidence (2020-08-11): Is Kamala Harris Legally African American, Indian, Both, Neither, or Something Else? Harris' origins allow her to properly claim Asian or Black/African American legal status, and she has chosen the latter. [...] UPDATE: I suppose I should have expected that in the partisan thick of a presidential campaign, people would interpret this post as making some political point about Harris. Given that it's supposed to be a partisan "right-wing" site (even though almost none of the Conspirators voted for Trump in 2016), one might expect people to interpret this as an attack on her. It's not. My academic article on the subject, linked above, starts with a discussion of several people of mixed or ambiguous race/ethnicity whose racial or status has been publicly discussed, including George Zimmerman, Tiger Woods, and Rachel Dolezal, and discusses what their status would be under the law. I anticipated there would be similar discussion of Harris. While there was no political point here (other than the implicitly absurdity of having official race categories), I note that several commentators, mostly but not solely on he right, have attacked Harris as not "really" black/African American and is therefore some sort of fraud. Feel free to use this post in her defense. Under the law, which broadly if not precisely reflects (and indeed to a large extent creates) societal expectations and standards, Harris clearly qualifies as black/African American.
Claim: “Nowhere on her birth certificate does it say that she is BLACK OR AFRICAN. … Kamala Harris is NOT black and never has been.” (Laura Loomer, 2024-07-31)
Evidence (2024-08-25): An X user also shared the screenshot with the caption, "First, he alleged that Kamala Harris wasn’t Black. Now he’s trying to convince people she’s not a woman. Donald Trump is the world’s worst person." That post has more than 71,000 views. [...] We rate the claim Trump posted on Truth Social that Harris used to be a man named Kamal Aroush False. [...] Fringe Culture, Kamala Harris is a man Named Kamal Aroush, Osama Bin Ladin is CIA Operative Named Tim Osman, Who Barack Obama is Either Related to or Actually IS Osman. Our World is Just One Big Elaborate Ongoing Joke on the Rest of Us. WAKE UP! Aren’t You Tired of Being Trolled?, Oct. 22, 2020
Claim: “Nowhere on her birth certificate does it say that she is BLACK OR AFRICAN. … Kamala Harris is NOT black and never has been.” (Laura Loomer, 2024-07-31)
Evidence (2024-08-01): She "ain’t black," as Joe Biden would likely say. Kamala Harris’ birth certificate states she was born to a Caucasian mother and a Jamaican father. Ironically, Kamala’s dad is named Donald J on her birth certificate. It is essential to point out that being Jamaican does not make you black, as Elon Musk is an African American because he was born in Africa. Kamala Harris herself even states she is not black, as an old video of Kamala shows her describing her race as Indian and South Asian. Laura Loomer was initially hit with community notes on X after stating that Harris was not black, but the notes were removed following the examination of Harris’ birth certificate. Even ChatGPT, which has been credibly accused of being biased towards the Left, states Kamala is not black because she is half Asian and Jamaican. If Kamala Harris can’t tell the American people the truth about her background, how are voters expected to believe Kamala on anything else, especially her policy positions?
Claim: “Nowhere on her birth certificate does it say that she is BLACK OR AFRICAN. … Kamala Harris is NOT black and never has been.” (Laura Loomer, 2024-07-31)
Evidence (2020-08-12): During her 2020 presidential campaign, Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., found herself at the center of a controversy about which Americans can claim to be Black, or Black enough — because of both her biracial identity and her immigrant parents. Born to a Jamaican father and an Indian mother, Harris was subject to a smear campaign insinuating that she was not Black at all — which began anew immediately after presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden announced she was his pick for the vice presidential nomination. After a July 2019 debate, critics took issue with her for discussing a topic they viewed to be most relevant to American Descendants of Slavery (ADOS) — busing to racially integrate schools. Although Harris was bused to a majority white school in California as part of a desegregation campaign, her lineage didn’t include enslaved African Americans, the group such efforts targeted, her detractors argued. (Harris' father, Donald, wrote in 2018 that his research suggests he and his daughters are descended from Black people enslaved in Jamaica.) To have her Blackness questioned in this way must’ve been jarring for a woman who graduated from the historically Black Howard University, was born in Oakland, California — hometown of the Black Panther Party — and has likely been viewed as Black by a majority white society.
Claim: “Nowhere on her birth certificate does it say that she is BLACK OR AFRICAN. … Kamala Harris is NOT black and never has been.” (Laura Loomer, 2024-07-31)
Evidence (2024-07-23): Completely false. Harris is a natural born U.S. citizen. She was born on Oct. 20, 1964, in Oakland, California, according to a copy of her birth certificate, obtained by the Associated Press. [...] This is false. Harris is Black and Indian. Her father, Donald Harris, is a Black man who was born in Jamaica. Shyamala Gopalan, her mother, was born in southern India. Harris has spoken publicly for many years, including in her 2019 autobiography, about how she identifies with the heritage of both her parents. [...] "Just a reminder that Kamala Harris @KamalaHarris isn’t black," reads one X post that had received approximately 42,000 likes and 20,400 shares as of Monday. "She Indian American. She pretends to be black as part of the delusional, Democrat DEI quota."
Claim: “Nowhere on her birth certificate does it say that she is BLACK OR AFRICAN. … Kamala Harris is NOT black and never has been.” (Laura Loomer, 2024-07-31)
Evidence (2024-08-01): On Aug. 12, 2020, the Twitter account of Joseph Blakeney Brown Jr. -- the American lawyer and television personality best known for the reality court show "Judge Joe Brown" -- tweeted a purported image of the birth certificate of U.S. Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris, along with text claiming Harris' parents had identified her as "Caucasian" on that certificate: Whatever the provenance of the document pictured here, it doesn't demonstrate anything about how she was racially identified at the time of her birth. The circled field above is clearly part of the section labeled "Mother of Child" and designates the "Color or Race of Mother," so it identifies Harris' mother (who was herself born in India) -- not Harris herself -- as "Caucasian": [...] As was common at the time (in California, at least), the birth certificate does not contain any field stating or identifying the race of the child.
Claim: “Nowhere on her birth certificate does it say that she is BLACK OR AFRICAN. … Kamala Harris is NOT black and never has been.” (Laura Loomer, 2024-07-31)
Evidence (2020-08-15): Does Kamala Harris' birth certificate identify her as "caucasian?" No, that's not true. Her birth certificate from Alameda County, California does not list a race for her. Harris' mother's race is listed as "caucasian," although her mother was from India, and her father's race is listed as "Jamaican," which is a nationality and not a race. A DNA study published by the National Institutes of Health concluded that the "modern Jamaican population" has "an almost entirely West African matrilineal origin." There is not a section for race of the child, Harris, on the birth certificate. Harris identifies as Black -- or African American -- and has spoken and written about her experience as a Black person in America. [...] Sen K Harris listed as Caucasian on her birth certificate ... by her parents ... [...] Kamala's race is not identified anywhere on the birth certificate, as was the standard in California when she was born on Oct. 20, 1964.
Claim: “Nowhere on her birth certificate does it say that she is BLACK OR AFRICAN. … Kamala Harris is NOT black and never has been.” (Laura Loomer, 2024-07-31)
Evidence (2024-07-18): Fact-checking Kamala Harris on Project 2025 limiting access to IVF, contraception [...] Harris’ statement contains an element of truth, but it ignores critical facts that would give a different impression. We rate it Mostly False. [...] Email interview, Kamala Harris campaign media office, July 23, 2024
Claim: “Nowhere on her birth certificate does it say that she is BLACK OR AFRICAN. … Kamala Harris is NOT black and never has been.” (Laura Loomer, 2024-07-31)
Evidence (2024-08-03): Kamala Harris has always identified as Indian American and Black [...] Former president Donald Trump falsely claimed that Vice President Kamala Harris has only recently begun identifying as Black, and that until a few years ago "she was only promoting Indian heritage." That’s nonsense. [...] That last part is true. According to a copy of Harris’ birth certificate posted by the Mercury News in August 2020, Harris’ race is not recorded — because there is no box for it. The certificate notes that Harris’ mother, who was living in Berkeley, California, was born in India. Where certificate form asks for the "color or race of mother," it is marked "Caucasian."
Claim: “Nowhere on her birth certificate does it say that she is BLACK OR AFRICAN. … Kamala Harris is NOT black and never has been.” (Laura Loomer, 2024-07-31)
Evidence (2020-08-17): FACT CHECK: Viral Image Claims Kamala Harris’ Birth Certificate Identifies Her As ‘Caucasian’ An image shared on Facebook claims Democratic California Sen. Kamala Harris’ birth certificate identifies her race as "Caucasian." [...] The text in the tweet reads, "Sen K Harris listed as Caucasian on her birth certificate…by her parents." (RELATED: Kamala Harris Says She Never Jailed Anybody For Truancy)
Claim: “Nowhere on her birth certificate does it say that she is BLACK OR AFRICAN. … Kamala Harris is NOT black and never has been.” (Laura Loomer, 2024-07-31)
Evidence (2024-07-23): The claims: Kamala Harris was raised in Canada, is not African-American and held Black prisoners past release dates [...] These claims exaggerate or misstate reality. Harris spent most of her childhood in the U.S. before moving to Quebec at age 12 and staying through high school. While her mother was Indian and her father is Jamaican, she has long identified as Black, and the federal government counts people of Jamaican ancestry as Black or African American. The claim about prisoners mischaracterizes an argument made by attorneys for her California Attorney General’s office about the need for nonviolent offenders to help fight wildfires. [...] Harris, the daughter of an Indian mother and Jamaican father, has long identified as Black, and her self-identification aligns with federal guidelines.
Claim: “Nowhere on her birth certificate does it say that she is BLACK OR AFRICAN. … Kamala Harris is NOT black and never has been.” (Laura Loomer, 2024-07-31)
Evidence (2024-07-23): Falsehoods about Kamala Harris' citizenship status, racial identity resurface online as she becomes likely Democratic nominee [...] Another thread once again being promoted on social media is the false narrative that Harris is lying about being Black. [...] Some have also claimed that because her father is from Jamaica, Harris is not Black. The vast majority of Jamaica's population has African heritage since the British brought enslaved Africans to the island in the 18th century.
Claim: “Nowhere on her birth certificate does it say that she is BLACK OR AFRICAN. … Kamala Harris is NOT black and never has been.” (Laura Loomer, 2024-07-31)
Evidence (2024-07-31): Birth certificate doesn’t list Kamala Harris’ race, but that’s not proof she isn’t Black [...] Laura Loomer, a conservative activist, shared a copy of what she said was Harris’ birth certificate in a July 31 X post and wrote, "Nowhere on her birth certificate does it say that she is BLACK OR AFRICAN. @KamalaHQ is a liar. Donald Trump is correct. [...] Loomer claimed a birth certificate proves Harris is not Black and never has been because it doesn’t say she is Black or African.
Claim: “Nowhere on her birth certificate does it say that she is BLACK OR AFRICAN. … Kamala Harris is NOT black and never has been.” (Laura Loomer, 2024-07-31)
Evidence (2024-08-07): Former President Donald Trump falsely claimed that Vice President Kamala Harris has only recently begun identifying as Black, and that until a few years ago "she was only promoting Indian heritage." That’s nonsense. [...] That last part is true. According to a copy of Harris’ birth certificate posted by the Mercury News in August 2020, Harris’ race is not recorded — because there is no box for it. The certificate notes that Harris’ mother, who was living in Berkeley, California, was born in India. Where the certificate form asks for the "color or race of mother," it is marked "Caucasian." [...] In other words, Kamala Harris is both Indian American and Black.
Claim: “Nowhere on her birth certificate does it say that she is BLACK OR AFRICAN. … Kamala Harris is NOT black and never has been.” (Laura Loomer, 2024-07-31)
Evidence (2020-08-12): In a much different way, her relationship with Indian Americans is also complex; even at this late date, some might be surprised to discover that Harris is half-Indian (as has often happened in previous times). Kamala Devi Harris shares her first name with an Indian-beloved flower, a Hindu deity, and a Bihari river. Her middle name literally means goddess in Hindi. She has spoken and written proudly of her mother, Shyamala Gopalan, an Indian-born doctor and activist, and of her grandfather, an Indian civil servant and high-ranking diplomat. (In her memoirs Harris has referred to her grandfather as a fighter for Indian independence from British rule, something family members have disputed.) She was raised primarily by Gopalan, who divorced her father, the Jamaica-born economist and activist Donald Harris, when she was a child. As Kamala wrote in her memoir, her mother was her biggest influence; the family often visited India when she was younger, and Gopalan’s family "instilled us with pride in our South Asian roots." But also, Harris’ mother "understood very well that she was raising two black daughters.
Claim: “Nowhere on her birth certificate does it say that she is BLACK OR AFRICAN. … Kamala Harris is NOT black and never has been.” (Laura Loomer, 2024-07-31)
Evidence (2020-06-08): I have never forgotten those words, which prompt me to write to you today—not to admonish, cajole or moralize, certainly not to pick a partisan fight, but to open up a conversation. There is something we need to talk about, my friends. Even more, there is something we need to do. [...] You might think that I have lived a life free from personal complicity in prejudice and racism. That is not true. [...] African-Americans are incarcerated at more than five times the rate of white people.