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No, Loeffler wasn’t wearing a wire during the Senate debate
If Your Time is short
- There’s no evidence that Kelly Loeffler was wearing a wire during the Dec. 6 Georgia Senate debate.
- The "wire" appears to be a strand of her hair.
Claims about politicians wearing wires and earpieces during debates are apparently bipartisan.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and President-elect Joe Biden have faced such false allegations. Now Sen. Kelly Loeffler, R-Ga., is the target of this variety of misinformation.
"Why is Loeffler wearing a wire?" reads one Facebook post showing a photo of Loeffler with what appears to be a strand of her hair circled.
This post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)
Loeffler debated her Democratic opponent, Rev. Raphael Warnock, in Atlanta on Dec. 6.
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Reviewing footage of the debate, we saw nothing to suggest that Loeffler was wearing a wire.
The Atlanta Press Club, which hosted the debate, tweeted on Dec. 7 that the candidates "had no audio assistance from their campaigns."
We rate this post Pants on Fire.
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Our Sources
Facebook post, Dec. 6, 2020
Politifact, Claims that Hillary Clinton wore earpiece at debate don’t hold up, Sept. 28, 2016
PolitiFact, Biden did not wear a wire during the first presidential debate, Sept. 30, 2020
YouTube, Georgia Senate debate live, Dec. 6, 2020
Atlanta Press Club tweet, Dec. 7, 2020
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No, Loeffler wasn’t wearing a wire during the Senate debate
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