Manipulated video of Joe Biden with child sparks lewd comments

"Let me whisper you a secret," Biden is heard saying to a child off-camera in the shaky and misleading zoomed-in video shared online, before leaning in and exiting the frame. "You're one sexy kid."

"Don't tell mommy what I told you," the Democratic president adds as he comes back into view and smiles for a picture.

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Screenshot from Twitter taken July 20, 2023

The clip rocketed across platforms including Twitter, TikTok and Facebook, while also circulating on apps catering to conservatives, such as former president Donald Trump's Truth Social.

The earliest iteration AFP found was a July 9, 2023 post from a meme account on Instagram, which led to similar posts on the site, denouncing Biden in unfavorable terms.

"Do you think this is appropriate?" says one July 11 Instagram post that received more than 1 million views. "Why would he say such a thing to a minor or anyone… especially at an event."

But the voice on the video has been digitally manipulated to insert the "sexy kid" comment -- adding to a baseless narrative fueled by the QAnon conspiracy theory and, in some instances, Trump, that Biden abuses women and children.

The original footage, uncovered via reverse image searches, shows Biden saying only "Let me whisper you a secret" and "Don't tell mommy what I told you." He then poses for what he thinks is a photo before the mother of the child tells him she is recording a video.

The woman, who goes by "Lizz H" on TikTok, posted the recording to the platform on June 9, 2023 (archived here), with text over the video reading: "so I met the president of the United States today."

The meeting took place at Fort Liberty, a military base in the state of North Carolina, where Biden signed an executive order aimed at bolstering economic opportunities for military families. C-SPAN footage of the event (archived here) shows Biden interacting with the mother and her child at approximately the 48-minute mark.

Asked in a comment under her post what Biden told her son, the mother said: "I don't think he told him anything because I didn't hear him say anything I think he just pretended to say something."

Replying to another user, she joked that Biden said her son "will be the first Mexican president of the United States."

AFP reached out to the woman and the White House for additional comment, but no responses were forthcoming.

Another altered version of the video previously circulated online, with a loud sniffing noise dubbed over the audio to make it appear as though Biden had leaned in to smell the child.

AFP has debunked other misinformation accusing Biden of inappropriate conduct here, here, here, and here.