Twitter removed a doctored video showing presidential candidate Joe Biden allegedly mixing up state names while addressing a crowd at a rally — but not before it was viewed over a million times.
According to The Guardian , an edited video that showed the Democratic hopeful addressing supporters by saying “Hello Minnesota” while signs with the words “Tampa, Florida” and “Text FL to 30330” stood behind him on stage was viewed over 1.1 million times on social media before it was finally removed.
The footage was originally taken from Biden’s campaign event in St. Paul, Minnesota, on Friday, October 30. However, the signs were digitally added to the clip in order to make it look like he mixed up state names. The video was posted on a personal user account and deleted shortly after Twitter tagged it as “manipulated media” on Sunday.
It emerged that the footage was fake after a fact-check by the Associated Press debunked the story. The news organization pointed out that the video was tweaked to add the words “Tampa, Florida,” while removing the actual words “TEXT MN to 30330.” Similarly, the podium was also edited to add “FL” instead of “MN.”
In the original version of the video from the event on C-SPAN, it was confirmed that the Democratic nominee did indeed address the correct state as he greeted the crowd in Minnesota, according to AP . Furthermore, the fact-check also touched upon other contextual clues that helped identify the video as manipulated.
In the 16-second clip, Biden wore a thick jacket, which was appropriate for the cold Midwest weather. On the other hand, during an appearance in Tampa just the day before, he sported a lighter suit jacket.
The footage also showed Biden saying “Jessica, thank you for being here, for sharing your story” just before it ended. This was a reference to Jessica Intermill, a local Minnesotan who delivered a speech about health care at the event just before the former vice president took the stage.
While the source of the video is unknown, it is not uncommon for Donald Trump’s campaign and supporters to target Biden’s age and supposed lack of mental agility. As reported by The Inquisitr , the president recently said at a rally in Florida that he wouldn’t mind fighting his opponent, claiming that “of all the people in the world that I can fight, that’s probably the one I’d like to most fight.”
“Those legs have gotten very thin. Not a lot of base. You wouldn’t have to close the fist,” Trump added.
