On Sept. 9, 2024, a Facebook page called America - Love It Or Leave It published a meme claiming U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris' college sorority refused to endorse her bid for the 2024 presidential election.
America - Love It Or Leave It (ALIOLI) alleged that one member of her sorority said: "We know the real Kamala."
ALIOLI's caption read: "How do we trust her if the people who knew her best don't?
(Facebook page America Love It Or Leave It)
Similar posts appeared elsewhere on Facebook in September.
Facebook users replying to the ALIOLI post appeared to believe the claim was true, with one writing: "That tells you a lot right there." Another commented: "Smart ladies."
However, there was no evidence Harris' sorority refused to endorse her 2024 presidential bid. Likewise, no credible news outlets reported on such a story.
Rather, the rumor originated with ALIOLI — a Facebook page that describes its output as being satirical in nature. Its Facebook intro stated:
A subsidiary of the America's Last Line of Defense network of trollery. Nothing on this page is real.
It also labeled its page as "Satire/parody" and said the account was run by an individual branded "Busta Troll." The meme itself also included a "Satire" label in the bottom-left corner.
America's Last Line of Defense, which was mentioned in ALIOLI's Facebook intro, likewise described its content as satirical and posted a similar meme, also labeled as "Satire," in late August.
The fictional story spread as Harris was preparing to face former U.S. President Donald Trump in the first television debate featuring the pair in the build up to the 2024 presidential election.
ALIOLI has a history of making up stories for shares and comments, for example Snopes addressed another satirical rumor produced by the Facebook page in August, when it claimed McDonald's fired Harris in 1981 for stealing.
For background, here is why we alert readers to rumors created by sources that call their output humorous or satirical.