A significant amount of inaccurate and misleading information is currently spreading on social media regarding the 2024 presidential elections. A recent incident involved a woman who was captured on video confronting a young girl in a stroller outside a Houston rally attended by Vice President Kamala Harris. This individual has been wrongly identified in numerous social media posts as a former Harris County Democratic Party employee, which is not accurate.
Here are the details surrounding this situation.
CLAIM: A viral video depicts a former employee of the Harris County Democratic Party yelling at a young girl during the rally for Vice President Kamala Harris in Houston on Friday.
THE FACTS: This claim is incorrect. Many social media users misidentified the woman involved as Jordan Bowen, who served as an organizing director for the county party from 2021 to 2023. However, the Harris County Democratic Party clarified in a Facebook post made on October 26 that the woman in the video “is not and never has been” part of the organization or the Texas Democratic Party.
Bowen, who also served as a fellow at HCDP from 2019 to 2020, explained that she was present at the rally but did not become aware of the controversy until friends began messaging her about it. Soon after, she reported receiving numerous harassing messages, including death threats, and her mother’s personal information was shared online.
Bowen shared photos from the event that highlighted her distinct appearance, which differs from the woman seen in the viral video. She wore a loose gray shirt, glasses, and a hat that had “HOU” emblazoned in rainbow colors, while the woman in the video donned a crop top with light brown, braided hair tied into pigtails, and was not wearing glasses.
The video captured a crowd by the Houston Metro’s Shell Energy Station, close to the rally venue, where the woman is seen confronting a child in a stroller. The exact words she used were not clear. A nearby woman attempted to intervene as a man, holding a microphone, lifted the girl from the stroller. When he questioned the shouting woman, asking, “Are you ashamed at all?” she responded with a firm, “No.”
Multiple social media platforms have incorrectly pinned the blame on Bowen, using the video to exemplify “typical” behavior associated with Democrats. A TikTok post that juxtaposed a screenshot of the incident with an actual image of Bowen attracted around 1.1 million views by Tuesday.
Due to the viral misinformation, Bowen expressed serious concerns for her safety and that of her family. She is currently consulting with legal counsel and contemplating possible legal actions. She suspects that her past association with the Democratic Party, and her initiatives to support Democratic candidates in Texas, made her a target for these falsehoods.
In response to the situation, a statement from Oxner Legha Law Firm—acting on Bowen’s behalf—condemned the misinformation for causing “baseless threats to her safety, undue distress, and substantial harm to her reputation.” The firm called on those responsible for spreading the misinformation, including social media companies, to retract the statements immediately.
Derek Kelly, the chief of staff for HCDP, corroborated Bowen’s prior employment with the party and stated that the office had received a barrage of hateful messages in the wake of the erroneous claims, impacting their ability to manage legitimate constituent concerns. He noted that armed security has been regularly patrolling the office due to the violent nature of some messages received.
“It severely hampers our work,” Kelly remarked regarding the unfounded accusations. “These allegations are completely fabricated.”
In another instance of misinformation, a claim circulated that a video showed ballots marked for Trump being disposed of in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, while those for Kamala Harris were being set aside for counting.
THE FACTS: Authorities have debunked this claim, identifying the video as “fake.” The Bucks County Board of Elections issued a statement indicating that the visuals in the clip did not represent authentic election materials and were manipulated, likely originating from a disinformation operation linked to Russian entities. The FBI remarked that the footage was “fabricated and amplified” to sow distrust regarding the election integrity.
Bob Harvie and Diane Ellis-Marseglia, the chair and vice chair of the Bucks County Board of Elections, respectively, condemned the video as “dangerous misinformation.” Subsequent investigations confirmed that there was no truth behind the claims, with local authorities regarding it as an intentional attempt to undermine faith in the electoral process.
Moreover, false claims concerning voter rolls in Michigan have emerged. It has been suggested that Michigan has 500,000 more registered voters than eligible individuals, implying potential widespread election fraud.
THE FACTS: This claim lacks essential context. While it is true that the state has more registered voters than eligible voters, this includes inactive voters who cannot be removed from rolls until stipulated federal and state regulations are satisfied. The number of active voters, in fact, is significantly lower than the number of eligible voters. Experts have asserted there is no basis for concluding that this discrepancy will lead to widespread fraud.
Despite this, social media posts—including criticism from billionaire Elon Musk—have propagated the false narrative that this indicates an intention to cheat during the upcoming election. Michigan’s Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson promptly countered Musk’s assertions, clarifying the actual figures and explaining the legal framework governing the removal of inactive voters.
Lastly, a claim regarding malfunctioning voting machines in Georgia—that a Dominion voting machine altered a voter’s selection—was also found to be untrue. Local election officials confirmed there was just one case among 6,000 ballots cast wherein a ballot was spoiled, which was resolved without any machine problem.
They emphasized that any such claims of machine failure were due to user error, not technical flaws. U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene initially shared the claim before acknowledging the official explanation, thanking the election officials for their assistance.