Some social media users are sharing a video that they claim President Joe Biden doesn’t want on the internet.
The video posted March 27 on Facebook is a compilation of clips from three Biden speeches and it claims to show him being heckled by the crowds. In the last two clips, chants of “f— Joe Biden!” can be heard.
But looks — and sounds — can be deceiving.
The 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.)
We found the original videos after identifying key details and quotes from each of the three clips and searching the information on Google. The clips that purportedly show people shouting profanity at Biden do not depict real events; they were manipulated.
In the first clip, the sign on Biden’s lectern shows that Biden was speaking in Texas. He was decrying comments then-President Donald Trump made about Mexican immigrants when the person filming the video cut him off: “That’s a lie, Joe! … And it was your son in the Ukraine.” The audience begins to boo and chant.
A 2019 news report about the incident from radio station KTSA said the audience booed at the man who cut off Biden, and chanted, “We want Joe!”
In the second clip, a sign on the lectern shows Biden speaking in Iowa. It gives the impression that Biden paused his speech as the crowd chanted “f— Joe Biden,” and then said: “I tell you what, man…”
We found an article with more context on that video. Biden was speaking in North Liberty, Iowa, during the 2020 Iowa caucus when a heckler stood up and walked out of the room, telling Biden that he could be the “Hillary of 2020.” The crowd chanted “Let’s Go Joe,” and then Biden began to speak. No f-bombs were thrown.
Bloomberg reported that the heckler, along with another man who interrupted Biden at the Iowa event, were part of a comedy duo called The Good Liars.
Iowa voter: “I think you could be the Hillary of 2020…”
Biden: “I thought they were exaggerating when they said that the Republicans said they were sending out 80 people to participate in the Democratic caucus here… By the way, give us back your ‘Joe’ shirt!” #IowaCaucus pic.twitter.com/AgKMlnXSl7
— Bloomberg Quicktake (@Quicktake) February 1, 2020
The last clip in the Facebook post shows Biden speaking at a July 2021 rally for former gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe of Virginia. “F— Joe Biden” is heard as Biden tries to quiet the crowd, saying “No, no no, let him talk…”
A Google search proves that the audio in this video was also faked.
Biden was in the middle of talking about conservative leaders’ response to COVID-19 when people began shouting “Stop Line 3,” a protest against a pipeline project in Minnesota. The rest of the crowd began to shout “let’s go, Joe” among other chants. Biden tried to quiet them down. Legitimate video from the event does not show the crowd yelling “f— Joe Biden.” Viewers can watch the exchange for themselves in a C-SPAN video, starting at the 22-minute mark.
The original videos prove that crowds weren’t cursing at Biden in these speeches. We rate this claim False.
This fact check was originally published by PolitiFact, which is part of the Poynter Institute. It is republished here with permission. See the sources for this fact check here and more of their fact checks here.
