A video viewed more than 2.8 million times on Twitter shows President-elect Joe Biden apparently looking “lost” and “confused” while on stage at a Jan. 16 event. However, the clip has been edited.
An iteration posted on Twitter here , retweeted by Rudy Giuliani ( here ) and by more than 11,900 users, reads: “We are so screwed. He has no idea where or who he is sometimes.”
Comments include: “He definitely looks lost and confused” and “Yes, he looks aged and confused.”
The 19-second clip circulating on social media misleadingly depicts the final moments of an event on Jan. 16, in which Joe Biden and U.S. Vice President-elect Kamala Harris introduced key members of the White House Science team. Full footage is visible on Biden’s YouTube channel youtu.be/KevRVvP2-_M .
Before he and the members of his team left the stage, Biden took an additional moment to give a closing message and said: “I’ve got to say one thing. I’m not supposed to speak again”, most likely referring to the schedule of the conference and the duration of his speech ( youtu.be/KevRVvP2-_M?t=2525 ). He then continued to address his excitement about the team of scientific experts chosen for his incoming administration, and finally said: “I’m taking this beyond what we’re supposed to do. See y’all”.
The original footage shows that the edited clip has been cropped from a wider frame which makes it appear Biden was alone at the stage ( youtu.be/KevRVvP2-_M?t=2590 ).
From timestamp 0:04 onwards, the edited version has no audio. Full footage shows that while leaving the room, reporters off-screen were asking him questions (see youtu.be/KevRVvP2-_M?t=2587 ).
The edited clip also fails to show that other people were walking out the stage alongside Biden, and that he was waiting to be the last to leave the room, as visible youtu.be/KevRVvP2-_M?t=2591 .
Since it was posted, the video has been labelled on Twitter as “manipulated media”.
VERDICT
Missing context. The clip in the viral tweet was cropped from original footage that showed Biden on a stage accompanied by several members of his team. His comment, “I’m taking this beyond what we’re supposed to do” was seemingly made in reference to the scope of the event, as can be seen in the longer video.
This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our work to fact-check social media posts here .
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.