People online have claimed Vice President Kamala Harris has adopted the Nazi phrase “Strength Through Joy” as her campaign slogan. That’s false.
People on social media are claiming the slogan for vice president and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris has ties to Nazism.
“Kamala’s ‘Strength Through Joy’ messaging derives from the Nazi’s. Imagine that,” one X post says.
Another claim on Facebook includes a screenshot from a Wikipedia page saying “Strength Through Joy” was a phrase coined by the Nazis as a “tool to promote the advantages of Nazism to the German people and internationally.”
VERIFY reader Melissa texted us this Instagram post telling people to Google search the Harris campaign slogan “Strength Through Joy.” Melissa asked if that is the slogan for the Harris campaign.
THE QUESTION
Is “Strength Through Joy” the Harris campaign slogan?
THE SOURCES
- Review of Harris-Walz campaign website and social media accounts
- Review of transcripts from various Harris campaign events
THE ANSWER
No, “Strength Through Joy” is not the Harris campaign slogan.
WHAT WE FOUND
While Kamala Harris has used the word “joy” while campaigning, “Strength Through Joy” is not the slogan for the Harris and Tim Walz campaign.
VERIFY searched through the campaign’s website and social media accounts and reviewed transcripts from campaign stops and found no evidence Harris has used the phrase “Strength Through Joy.”
None of the posts making the claim that is her slogan include a video clip of Harris using that exact phrase, either.
There are also no credible news outlets reporting that a Harris-Walz campaign slogan has ties to Nazi Germany.
The Harris campaign does not appear to have an official slogan, although her website homepage says “Let’s Win This,” and she has used the phrases “We’re not going back” and “When we fight, we win” often. VERIFY reached out to the Harris campaign for comment and did not hear back at the time of publication.
“Strength Through Joy” was a real Nazi program. according to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. After the Nazis' rise to power in 1933, the regime used the “Strength Through Joy” program to keep German society under control. Its aim was to “improve ‘Aryan’ workers’ quality of life and build popular support for the Nazi regime.”
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