Climate US politics
US President Joe Biden speaks in front of a home destroyed by fallen trees and debris during a tour of communities impacted by Hurricane Idalia with US First Lady Jill Biden in Live Oak, Florida, on September 2, 2023. ( AFP / Stefani Reynolds)

Motorcade video manipulated to add anti-Biden chant

  • This article is more than one year old.
  • Published on September 7, 2023 at 18:43
  • 3 min read
  • By Natalie WADE, AFP USA

Copyright © AFP 2017-2025. Any commercial use of this content requires a subscription. Click here to find out more.

A video shared on social media purports to show people chanting and shouting expletives at US President Joe Biden as his motorcade arrives at a Florida school after Hurricane Idalia. However, the clip's audio has been manipulated; the original footage does not include any heckling, and no protesters are seen in the video.

"JUST IN: Biden arrives in Florida to steady chants of 'F Joe Biden,'" Chuck Callesto, a Republican from the US state of Florida who ran for Congress in 2018, said in a September 2, 2023 X post.

Screenshot of an X post taken September 6, 2023

Similar posts spread across X and other platforms such as TikTok, after Biden traveled to Live Oak, Florida, on September 2, to tour areas impacted by Hurricane Idalia, which hit the Gulf Coast on August 30, drenching coastal communities.

The altered clip appears to have originated with "il Donaldo Trumpo," a pro-Donald Trump account that has previously shared other videos targeting Biden with manipulated video that features unflattering audio.

The latest is no exception, as the footage was originally shared by an X user on September 2, along with the caption, "Joe Biden motorcade arrives to Suwannee Pineview Elementary in Live Oak Florida visiting Hurricane Idalia impacted areas."

Unlike the later iterations shared online, this video contains no chants or profanity.

It is also clear from the video that there are no demonstrators present, as only a few people can be seen filming his arrival.

Screenshot of a video shared on X, taken September 6, 2023
Screenshot of a video shared on X, taken September 6, 2023

 

 

Screenshot of a video shared on X, taken September 6, 2023
Screenshot of a video shared on X, taken September 6, 2023

 

 

Furthermore, in September 2022 AFP debunked a post using what appears to be the same audio in a video of Joe Biden's motorcade in London, as the US president attended Queen Elizabeth II's funeral.

AFP contacted the White House for comment, but a response was not forthcoming.

Is there content that you would like AFP to fact-check? Get in touch.

Contact us

Next article Previous article