The claim that Kamala Harris was fired for stealing from McDonald's is satire

Vice President Kamala Harris has highlighted many of her previous work experiences in her presidential quest, including a stint at McDonald's, but some social media users claimed the fast-food job did not end well.

“McDonald's Corporate confirms Kamala Harris worked for them in the summer of 1981,” read a caption under a photo of Harris that has been shared more than 6,000 times. “She was fired for theft.”

This post has been flagged as part of Meta's efforts to combat fake news and misinformation in its news feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram, and Threads.)

(Screenshot from Facebook)

However, many readers did not realize that the source of this August 29 claim is a satirical Facebook page: “America's Last Line of Defense.”

“What!!! Wow!!! I can't believe it!!,” wrote one commenter. “She's the candidate for US President!!”

“Many don't understand the implications!!! You should know better what policies you are voting for!!!!” commented another.

Harris has said in ads for her presidential campaign and in other public appearances that she worked at McDonald's while in college. Her campaign told PolitiFact that Harris worked at a McDonald's in Alameda, California, in the summer of 1983. Harris attended Howard University in Washington, DC, from 1982 to 1986.

In the comments on its McDonald's post, America's Last Line of Defense linked to a Dunning-Kruger Times article that quoted a McDonald's spokesperson as saying Harris was fired for stealing “a significant amount of Chicken McNuggets.”

Dunning-Kruger Times describes itself as “an affiliate of the 'America's Last Line of Defense' network of parody, satire and silliness.” America's Last Line of Defense has been writing false headlines for years. Its creator, Christopher Blair, has told PolitiFact that the parody aims to deceive conservatives with made-up stories that most people would find absurd.

Like in this Facebook post, America's Last Line of Defense often places a watermark in the corner of its images that includes the organization's name as well as a “satire” disclaimer. But people who come into contact with the post often overlook this disclaimer and share the headline on their own timelines as if it were real news.

PolitiFact contacted McDonald's about this claim but did not receive a response prior to publication.

We evaluate the claim that Harris was fired from McDonald's for stealing Pants on Fire!