Does a video posted on Instagram genuinely show a woman who has pledged to eat dog food until Kamala Haris is president? No, that's not true: The video originated from a TikTok account featuring a woman who cosplays as a dog named Lassie. The account features videos of the woman behaving like a dog in various ways. The original version of the video did not feature any mention of Harris or include any other political comments.
The claim originated in a video shared to Instagram on October 11, 2024, (archived here) that showed a woman kneeling on the floor next to two black-and-white dogs while eating what appears to be dry dog food from a metal bowl. The video's text graphic read:
Im eating dog food until Kamala is President
This is how the post appeared at the time of the publication of this fact check:
(Source: Instagram screenshot taken Tues Oct 22 07:51:48 2024 UTC)
The caption "Im eating dog food until Kamala is President" was not in the original video, which was not a protest or connected to politics in any way.
The original video (archived here) was posted on TikTok on August 19, 2024, by user lassieworld4 (archived here). Lassieworld4's videos show her behaving like a dog in various ways. A caption included in the original video post read:
It was just dry kibble tonight :( #yummy #doggirl #fyp #trending
Below is a screenshot of the lassieworld4 profile page, which shows, as of October 22, 2024, 22 videos of her behaving like a dog.
(Source: TikTok screengrab taken Screenshot 2024-10-23 at 22:58:39)
Lassieworld4 also includes a link to her profile on Cameo (archived here), a website that allows users to be paid to make brief appearances on video. A description on her Cameo page read:
I am the owner of the tiktok account @lassiesworld, where I cosplay as my character, a collie called Lassie. I entertain a crowd with my dog-like behaviour and everyday antics
Below is a side-by-side comparison of screenshots. The one on the left, taken from the original video, does not include the comment about Harris. The right screenshot shows the added text overlay in the edited video another user placed on Instagram:
(Source: Lead Stories compilation of Instagram and TikTok screenshots taken Tues Oct 22 22:56:31 2024 UTC)
Other Lead Stories fact checks of claims that mention Kamala Harris can be read here. Our general collection of fact checks related to the 2024 U.S. general election are here.
