June 18, 2024 - 8:16pm

A series of videos have been circulating online suggesting that President Joe Biden is mentally and physically incompetent due to his advanced age, but the White House and various media outlets have dismissed the clips as “cheapfakes”.

The term is a play on “deepfakes”, fake images produced through AI, except “cheapfakes” refer to real videos presented in a misleading light, often through selective shortening or misleading captions. The White House’s claims that the videos are fake are themselves misleading, since the videos are in fact real. However, the unedited and contextualised versions of the viral clips show that the American Right has on occasion given misleading accounts of the incidents, which present a mixed impression of Biden’s health.

1. Biden “freezing” at Juneteenth concert

During a concert at the White House commemorating the end of slavery last week, Biden stood completely still, with his hands suspended several inches above a natural resting position, for about twenty seconds.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre dismissed concerns about the incident, saying the President was simply not dancing, much like others around him. “Excuse me, I didn’t know not dancing was a mental… was a health issue,” she said. The clip does show two security guards who are looking side to side rather than dancing, and the Vice President’s husband, Doug Emhoff, is not dancing for parts of the video. However, Biden’s total stillness stands out even compared to nearby participants who aren’t dancing.

Cheapfake score: 1/10. The video is not doctored or misleading. 

2. Biden gesturing toward parachuter at G7

Doing the rounds this week is a video of Biden seemingly wandering off after a skydiving demonstration at the G7 conference in Italy, a clip subject to walltowall debunking from the mainstream press.

In the video, the President walks several feet off from the other world leaders, faces away from them, and offers a thumbs up to an officer packing a parachute. The New York Post shared an edited video on social media with the officer cropped out, making it appear that Biden was talking to no one, and the photos for their cover page similarly excluded him.

The full video, however, does show Biden gesturing toward an officer who is not at any point looking in his direction. Giorgia Meloni eventually leads the President back by the hand. Later in the video, Biden puts his sunglasses on during a photo op, and appears nearly frozen as he very slowly lowers his hands to a resting position. While the Post misled about the contents of the clip, that original video does not paint Biden in a positive light.

Cheapfake score: 8/10.

3. Holding Barack Obama’s hand

Former president Barack Obama led Biden off stage by the hand at a recent fundraiser in Los Angeles, sparking another round of speculation about the White House incumbent’s mental acuity.

A senior Obama advisor disputed claims that Biden needed to be led by the hand because he had frozen up. The White House does not dispute the veracity of the video, but instead says it’s being misrepresented. “They are friends. They’re like family to each other, and I think that’s what you saw,” Jean-Pierre told reporters.

While videos do clearly show Obama taking Biden’s hand, contrary to claims of liberal influencers who themselves shared doctors videos online, it’s not obvious that this was due to Biden struggling to get off the stage.

Cheapfake score: 3/10

4. Struggling to sit down in Normandy

In another viral video, Biden appears crouching down at a D-Day commemoration, while those around him remain standing. Several commentators claimed he was trying to sit on an “invisible chair,” although in reality there was a chair directly behind him. However, it did take Biden 10 seconds to sit down, with three pauses.

One fact-checker argued that Biden was pausing on his way down because the next speaker was being introduced, but the President had paused mid-sit before that announcement began. In context, the video may demonstrate physical slowness, but it doesn’t show Biden imagining a chair that doesn’t exist.

Cheapfake score: 5/10

5. Facing the wrong way during D-Day ceremony

A viral 20-second clip of Biden in the audience of a D-Day commemoration shows the President slowly turning away from the speaker and toward what appears to be the audience. Those sitting near him — Emmanuel Macron, Brigitte Macron and Jill Biden — slowly follow suit.

While the clipped version gives the impression that Biden is confused and facing the wrong direction, a full-length video provides further context. The President and the neighbouring attendees were actually on stage along with several veterans, and Biden was turning to face the veterans, with one of the vets offering an appreciative nod to Macron after the pair turned to face him.

Cheapfake score: 8/10


is UnHerd’s US correspondent.

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