Claim about ABC whistleblower dying in a car crash is baseless on all fronts | Fact check

Hannah Hudnall, USA TODAY
·3 min read
140

The claim: ABC whistleblower who claimed Kamala Harris was given questions before debate died in car crash

A Sept. 15 Instagram post (direct link, archived link) shows a screenshot of a post on X, formerly Twitter, by Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.

"The ABC whistleblower who claimed Kamala Harris was given debate questions ahead of the debate has died in a car crash according to news reports," reads Greene's post.

The Instagram post – which adds a caption saying, "You still believe in all of these coincidences?" – garnered more than 1,000 likes in a day. Other versions of the claim were shared on Facebook and Instagram. Websites such as the Hindustan Times and Times Now also published articles about the claim, leading people online to believe the story was legitimate.

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Our rating: False

Every element of this claim is baseless. There's no evidence such a whistleblower exists, nor that one died in a car crash. Greene retracted her claim about the supposed crash. ABC News said no information was shared with either presidential candidate before the debate.

Whistleblower claim is baseless

Following former President Donald Trump's performance during the Sept. 10 debate, claims about Vice President Kamala Harris having an upper hand started circulating on social media. Some online users shared screenshots of a supposed affidavit written by a whistleblower with ABC News, in which the anonymous source claimed the outlet discussed questions with Harris before the debate.

However, an ABC News spokesperson who declined to be named refuted this claim in an email to USA TODAY.

"ABC News followed the debate rules that both campaigns agreed on and which clearly state: No topics or questions will be shared in advance with campaigns or candidates," the spokesperson said.

No credible evidence has surfaced, and no credible media outlets have reported, that Harris was given questions ahead of time.

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Hours after sharing her post about the supposed whistleblower dying in a car crash, Greene shared a follow-up post retracting her claim about a car crash. The original post remains online.

"This story appears to be false and I’m glad to hear it," reads part of Greene's follow-up post, which went on to call for an investigation of claims from the supposed whistleblower.

The earliest iteration of the whistleblower claim USA TODAY found was published in a blog post on Sept. 13, two days before the more widespread claims from Greene and other websites. The post doesn't include any evidence to back up its claim and the only author listed is "admin."

USA TODAY reached out to Greene, the website that spread the claim and the user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response. Harris' campaign declined to comment.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: No evidence ABC provided debate questions to Harris | Fact check

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