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Facebook post distorts images of President Joe Biden, granddaughter
If Your Time is short
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News photos and video show President Joe Biden placing an "I voted" sticker on his granddaughter, Natalie Biden’s, shirt after they voted Oct. 29, 2022, in Delaware, then kissing her on the cheek.
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The moment marked Natalie Biden’s first time voting. People watching on applauded as she stepped out of the voting booth.
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The original footage shows no evidence of inappropriate contact.
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Learn more about PolitiFact’s fact-checking process and rating system.
A Facebook post used two screenshots from a video to imply that President Joe Biden behaved inappropriately with his granddaughter.
The two images appear to show Biden touching the girl on her chest and then kissing her on the mouth. "His granddaughter, dude," read text over a third image, a scene from the 1998 comedy movie "The Big Lebowski."
The March 18 post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)
The Facebook post plays into repeatedly debunked claims that Biden is a pedophile and touches or kisses children inappropriately.
A reverse-image search shows the photos are from 2022, when Biden’s granddaughter, Natalie, who had just turned 18, voted for the first time at a polling station in Delaware.
(Facebook screenshot)
Featured Fact-check
News photos and video from the event tell a different story than the Facebook post. In the video, Joe Biden announces to those watching that his granddaughter is a first-time voter. When she emerges from the voting booth, people nearby applaud. When Joe Biden emerges from his voting booth, a poll worker hands him an "I voted" sticker.
This NBC News video shows President Joe Biden placing an "I voted" sticker on Natalie Biden’s shirt, then kissing her on the cheek.
With news media, poll workers and voters watching, Natalie Biden placed a sticker on her grandfather’s jacket. He then asked her which side she wanted her sticker on, and she pointed to a spot on her upper left chest and said, "This side." Biden placed the sticker there, then kissed her quickly on her left cheek.
Other news photos after the pair voted show an "I voted" sticker on Natalie Biden’s shirt above her chest.
President Joe Biden and his granddaughter Natalie Biden leave a polling station after voting, Oct. 29, 2022, in Wilmington, Del. Each is wearing an "I voted" sticker. (AP)
The Facebook post’s claim that photos show the president touching his granddaughter inappropriately is Pants on Fire!
Our Sources
Facebook post, March 18, 2024
The Associated Press, Granddaughter joins Biden in casting early vote, Oct. 29, 2022
NBC News, President #Biden And His Granddaughter Cast Their Votes Together, Nov. 3, 2022
C-Span, President Biden Votes and Talks to Reporters in Wilmington, Delaware, Oct. 29, 2022
Getty Images, photo of President Joe Biden and Natalie Biden, Oct. 29, 2022
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Facebook post distorts images of President Joe Biden, granddaughter
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