US President Joe Biden and US First Lady Jill Biden participate in a blessing ceremony with the Lahaina elders at Moku'ula following wildfires in Lahaina, Hawaii on August 21, 2023. ( AFP / Mandel NGAN)

Expletive-strewn anti-Biden chant added to Hawaii footage

  • This article is more than one year old.
  • Published on August 23, 2023 at 22:42
  • 3 min read
  • By Bill MCCARTHY, AFP USA
A video circulating online appears to show Maui residents chanting a highly offensive slogan at Joe Biden as he toured wildfire-hit Hawaii. But the clip's audio has been manipulated; the original footage of the US president walking past decimated cars features no expletive-laden chant.

"Sleepy Joe landed in #Hawaii. The entire population there are shouting - 'Fk Joe Biden.' #MauiFires," says an August 21, 2023 post sharing the video on Twitter, which has rebranded as "X."

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Screenshot from Twitter, which is rebranding as "X," taken August 23, 2023

Similar posts spread in multiple languages across X and other platforms, including Facebook, TikTok and Telegram, after Biden traveled to Hawaii on August 21 to tour the deadliest wildfires the United States has seen in more than a century.

The Democrat's visit came nearly two weeks after the historic town of Lahaina was leveled, killing at least 114 people.

But the clip has been altered to add the insulting chant. It appears to have originated with "il Donaldo Trumpo," a popular pro-Donald Trump account that has previously shared other videos targeting Biden with similarly manipulated audio.

The footage is lifted from C-SPAN, which posted an identical recording to X of Biden walking alongside First Lady Jill Biden, Hawaii Governor Josh Green and Hawaii First Lady Jaime Green (archived here).

The C-SPAN video shows the group passing the same charred car ruins as they walked toward a podium where Biden spoke, but it does not feature any chanting of expletives.

No such chant is audible in footage of the same moment captured by AFP and other news organizations, including The Washington Post.

AFP contacted the White House for comment, but no response was forthcoming.

An AFP photojournalist who captured photos and video on the ground in Maui also observed no protesters or anti-Biden chanting as the president surveyed the damage and approached the outdoor podium.

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US President Joe Biden (2nd R), US First Lady Jill Biden (R), Hawaii Governor Josh Green (2nd L) and Jaime Green, First Lady of Hawaii, visit an area devastated by wildfires in Lahaina, Hawaii on August 21, 2023. ( AFP / Mandel NGAN)

The journalist did see some people display middle-finger gestures as Biden's motorcade drove by, as well as one person holding a placard that said "FJB" -- an abbreviation for the explicit slogan.

Pool reporters who traveled with Biden's motorcade also said the convoy passed some residents carrying signs of support and others with anti-Biden placards.

AFP previously debunked other misinformation about Biden's Hawaii visit here.

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