After yesterday’s debate between Trump and Harris, a conspiracy theory circulated on social media: Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris wore hidden headphones disguised as pearl earrings throughout the entire debate.

The conspiracy theory states that Harris wore a pair of Nova H1 audio earrings, developed by German startup NOVA Products, during the first presidential debate between the vice president and Donald Trump, hosted by ABC News at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia on September 10.

According to the startup’s Kickstarter page, the ear clips “are placed on the earlobes and direct sound from inside the pearl directly into the ear canal.” It goes on to say that “each earring has two tiny high-end microphones built into it, giving the user crystal clear phone calls and wind noise cancellation.”

These Bluetooth wearables, unveiled in January 2023 at the CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas, Nevada, feature “directional sound” that ensures privacy: “Every audio output is completely private, so you’re the only one who hears your conversations and music,” says the product description on the Kickstarter page.

While video footage of the debate shows Harris wearing pearl earrings, several social media users pointed out their similarity to a pair of Double Pearl Hinged Earrings from Tiffany & Co. Newsweek has reached out to the Harris-Walz campaign team for comment.

This is not the first time conspiracy theories about secret communications have circulated during presidential debates. Similar claims were made about Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential campaign, following a televised forum called the Commander-in-Chief Forum on September 7, 2016.

Some conservative websites and social media users circulated images purporting to show Clinton wearing an earpiece during the event. Fact-checking websites PolitiFact and Snopes investigated and refuted claims that a skin-colored earpiece was visible in Clinton’s ear.

Also circulating during the 2020 presidential campaign was an allegation that President Joe Biden wore a hidden earpiece during a debate. This came to light before the first presidential debate between Biden and Donald Trump on September 29, 2020. Some conservative media figures claimed that the Democrat used a hidden earpiece during the debate to get answers or coaching.

However, there was no evidence to support this. Biden’s campaign team strongly denied the claim, calling it “completely absurd.” The Commission on Presidential Debates also stated that neither candidate was allowed to wear an earpiece during the debate.

An online search for the Nova H1 Audi earrings shows that they don’t appear to be for sale anywhere currently, and the NOVA Products website redirects to another company, Icebach Sound Solutions.

In addition, backers on the crowdfunding site Kickstarter have left messages from over a year ago asking about the delivery status of their purchased H1 earrings, which allegedly never arrived. NOVA Products’ last login to Kickstarter was in May 2023.

Newsweek has asked Icebach Sound Solutions for comment via email.