Staff from the United Kingdom’s ruling political party could reportedly join Democratic campaigners in the U.S. to assist with Kamala Harris‘ presidential bid, leading to a number of misleading claims across social media.
A LinkedIn post by a senior member of the British Labour Party invited staff members to join in Harris’ campaign efforts in battleground states, crucial to both the vice president and her opponent, former President Donald Trump, as the extremely tight presidential race approaches its end.
“I have nearly 100 Labour Party staff (current and former) going to the US in the next few weeks heading to Carolina, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Virginia,” the post said.
“I have 10 spots available for anyone available to head to the battleground state of North Carolina – we will sort your housing.”
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign rally at East Carolina University on October 13, 2024, in Greenville, North Carolina. There were reports this week that staff from the United Kingdom’s leading political party could be heading to the U.S. to help with Harris’ campaign.
Alex Wong/Getty Images
The post has since been deleted.
The post quickly inspired backlash from Trump supporters, despite politicians such as the British Reform Party leader Nigel Farage and former U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss traveling to the U.S. to publicly support the former president.
The post has also led to misleading and unverified claims about the types of Labour Party associates that would be arriving.
Ian Miles Cheong, a conservative social media personality whose posts Newsweek has repeatedly fact-checked, claimed that politicians from the party were going to support the Harris campaign.
“Around a hundred UK Labour politicians are campaigning on behalf of Kamala Harris across battleground states,” Cheong said in a post on October 17, 2024, viewed 33 million times.
“Isn’t this foreign election interference? Imagine if members of the Russian Duma did this.”
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk wrote in response, in a post viewed 33.1 million times: “This is illegal.”
Both of these claims are inaccurate.
Cheong ran ahead with a claim that elected officials, such as Members of Parliament (MPs) or local councilors, would join the trip which there is so far been any evidence of. Any notion that Labour Party staff were being sent at the behest of the party is also unfounded.
According to reporting by Politico, politicians have visited the U.S. to help Democrats, such as Ruth Cadbury MP.
“We’re all left of center activists and when you travel abroad it’s good to show solidarity,” she said.
“It showed the New Hampshire Democrats in a small way that people in the U.K. are thinking about their win as part of the bigger win for Harris and Walz.”
Musk’s claim that the move was “illegal” also lacks evidence.
The Federal Election Commission prohibits “contributions, donations, expenditures (including independent expenditures) and disbursements solicited, directed, received or made directly or indirectly by or from foreign nationals in connection with any federal, state or local election.”
However, individuals may volunteer personal services to a campaign “without making a contribution as long as the individual is not compensated by anyone for the services.”
“Although foreign nationals may not make contributions or expenditures (including advances of personal funds) in connection with any federal, state or local election, an individual who is a foreign national may participate in campaign activities as an uncompensated volunteer,” the FEC states.
The FEC adds that foreign national volunteers must not participate in the decision-making process of the campaign.
“For example, a foreign national volunteer may attend committee events and campaign strategy meetings, but may not be involved in the management of the committee,” it says.
Newsweek has contacted a Labour Party media representative via email for comment.
Labour Party leader and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer met with Trump last month, a source telling the BBC that the pair had “‘discussed the longstanding friendship between the U.K. and the U.S. and the importance of continuing to develop the strong and enduring partnership between our two countries.'”
Starmer, who said he wanted to meet both candidates before the election, did not meet with Harris citing “diary challenges.”
