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Joe Biden speaking with supporters at a campaign event at Texas Southern University in Houston, March 2, 2020 (AP)
This video of people shouting profanity at Biden is not real. The profane chants were edited in.
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- The clips that purportedly show people shouting profanity at Biden do not depict real events; they were edited.
- The original videos prove that crowds weren’t cursing at Biden in these speeches.
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!"
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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.
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Our Sources
Facebook post, March 27, 2022
Reuters, Fact Check-Compilation of Biden clips at rallies features manipulated audio of crowds cursing, March 28, 2022
KTSA, Biden’s Campaign Stop Includes Rally, Private Fundraiser And Mi Tierra, Dec. 14, 2019
Facebook video, Dec. 13, 2019
WZTV-TV News Facebook video, Joe Biden holds a community event in San Antonio, Dec. 13, 2019
PJ Media, Protester taunts Biden in Iowa: 'You could be the Hillary of 2020' Feb. 2, 2020
Bloomberg News Quicktake Twitter post, Feb. 1, 2020
Bloomberg News Quicktake Twitter post, Feb. 1, 2020
Slate, Watch Biden Brush Off Hecklers: "This Is Not a Trump Rally, Let ‘Em Holler", July 24, 2021
C-SPAN, President Biden Campaign Remarks for Terry McAuliffe, July 23, 2021
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More by Gabrielle Settles
This video of people shouting profanity at Biden is not real. The profane chants were edited in.
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