Biden's speech to Congress manipulated in clip
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"Wow, I can't believe Biden started the State of the Union like this. Powerful stuff," says the text accompanying a February 8, 2023 Instagram video in which he appears to make the statement about capitalism, followed by wild cheers. The same segment was shared on TikTok here and here.
But the clip has been manipulated.
The official White House video shows Biden's full remarks (at approximately 42 minutes) with a different message.
"Look, capitalism without competition isn't capitalism. It's extortion. It's exploitation," Biden is heard saying.
The comments follow Biden's initiative launched in 2021 aimed at promoting more competition in the US economy, focusing on a range of industries including pharmaceuticals, banks, airlines and internet service providers.
The clip being shared also shows enthusiastic applause from lawmakers and others in the audience following Biden's comment -- but these have been edited in, and are not from the 2023 State of the Union.
For example, a screenshot from the clip (below on the right) shows applause from First Lady Jill Biden, wearing a blue dress that is not the purple gown she wore to the 2023 speech.
Senator Elizabeth Warren is seen clapping in the video wearing a purple jacket -- not the blue one she was photographed in at the event in 2023.
One segment of the 21-second clip shows Nancy Pelosi in the presiding chair, even though the Democratic congresswoman is no longer speaker and that seat was occupied by Republican Kevin McCarthy.
AFP has fact-checked other clips of Biden with audio or video manipulated, and other organizations have investigated similar fakes.
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