Former president and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump was among social media users to falsely claim that Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris has been faking images of crowds at her rallies.
People online have started sharing a screenshot appearing to show a Craigslist ad that is looking for paid actors to attend an event. Social media posts claim the post was listed by Harris’ campaign looking for people to attend one of the Democratic nominee’s rallies in Phoenix.
The ad is titled “Actors needed (Phoenix Convention Center)” and is looking for:
“Actors/help needed for event tomorrow from 2-11pm. $15 per hour. Duties include protest activity and holding signs that are Anti-Trump. Minorities welcome and needed! Looking to fill about 500 spots.”
This Instagram post with the image says, “when you see Kamala’s rally in Phoenix, remember this.”
Several VERIFY readers texted to ask if the Craigslist ad is legitimate.
THE QUESTION
Did the Kamala Harris campaign place this Craigslist ‘actors needed’ ad for her campaign event in Arizona?
THE SOURCES
- Harris-Walz campaign spokesperson
- Social media and meme website posts from 2019, 2021 and 2022.
- VERIFY search of Phoenix Craigslist and central/south Phoenix
- RevEye, a reverse image search tool
THE ANSWER
No, the Kamala Harris campaign did not place a Craigslist ‘actors needed’ ad for her Arizona event. The screenshot has the wrong city and location, has been online for years and has also been falsely associated with Trump campaign events.
WHAT WE FOUND
Kamala Harris and Tim Walz held a campaign event on April 9 in Glendale, Arizona, but they didn’t advertise on classified ads website Craigslist for “paid actors.” Similar versions of the meme have been posted online since at least 2019.
Using RevEye, a reverse image search tool, VERIFY was able to find this Nov. 1, 2019, Facebook post shared to an anti-Donald Trump page included an image of a nearly identical meme with the same title and location, but instead of “anti-Trump” it says “pro-Trump.” That post implies “die-hard pro-Trump” protesters are paid actors. Trump was running for re-election at the time.
That meme was posted again on the meme website iFunny in 2021 and in 2022.
In a statement to VERIFY, a Harris-Walz campaign spokesperson said, “the Harris-Walz campaign does not pay people to attend rallies, including the recent rally in Arizona.”
There are several other reasons that the viral claim with the screenshot about Harris’ campaign hiring actors is false.
The location on the image doesn’t match where the Harris-Walz actual rally was held. That event was at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona. The meme is recruiting actors for a different venue, the Phoenix Convention Center, about 18 miles away.
VERIFY searched through Phoenix-area Craigslist ads and did not find this ad published.
In 2017, a different image of an alleged Craigslist ad advertising for actors went viral in the Phoenix area. That image was titled “Actors Needed (Phoenix).” That image had similar text and requirements as the one that went recently viral.
“Several actors needed for Trump rally to be held in Phoenix. Minorities especially desired to hold pro-Trump signs which will be provided. Please reply with a headshot for consideration,” the post said.
The Arizona Republic reported no one could confirm the authenticity of that ad. KPNX reported the phone number listed with the Craigslist posting belonged to an 18-year-old man who had been bombarded with calls. The man said he did not post the ad and did not know who was responsible for it at the time.
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