Biden didn't give profane Oval Office address. Clip is doctored | Fact check
The claim: Video shows Biden giving profane Oval Office address
A July 21 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) shows a video of what appears to be President Joe Biden in the Oval Office delivering a profanity-laden address.
Presenting the video as legitimate news, the post’s caption states, “Breaking Now: President Joe Biden makes his first video address following dropping out of the Presidential race.”
The video was reposted thousands of times on X, formerly Twitter.
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Our rating: Altered
The video is a fabrication. It was first posted to X by an account that regularly shares memes and other doctored content.
Video originated on account that shares memes
Three weeks after his widely panned debate performance against former President Donald Trump, Biden posted a letter to social media July 21 in which he announced he was dropping out of the presidential race. In an Oval Office address three days later, he said the best way forward “is to pass the torch to a new generation.”
But none of his speeches include this profanity-laden attack on his critics. The video in the social media posts is fabricated, as evidenced by the audio at multiple points failing to match the movements of Biden's mouth. Posted three days before Biden's televised speech about the decision, the clip originated from an account that regularly posts memes and other doctored videos and images.
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A watermark in it includes the name of a social media account, and that user describes himself as a “memer” in his bio. The original video was taken from Biden's Oval Office address July 14, one day after a gunman attempted to assassinate Trump at a campaign rally. In that speech, Biden called for Americans to “lower the temperature in our politics.”
The video also includes a PBS News watermark. In a statement posted to X, the network characterized the clip as a deepfake and the use of the footage as unauthorized.
USA TODAY previously debunked false claims that Biden resigned as president, was in hospice care and was the reason flags at the U.S. Capitol flew at half-staff.
USA TODAY reached out to some social media users who shared the video but did not immediately receive responses.
AFP also debunked the claim.
Our fact-check sources:
@MidnightMitch, accessed July 26, X profile
The White House (YouTube), July 14, President Biden Addresses the Nation (ASL)
PBS News, July 21, X post
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Profane Joe Biden Oval Office speech video is fabricated | Fact check