During Joe Biden’s brief visit to Maui, among the many things he was criticized for included an incident where he appeared to either briefly fall asleep or be resting his eyes during a ceremony honoring the wildfire victims.
As “Sleepy Joe” was slammed online for the incident, which came amid a series of disrespectful gaffes during his brief break from vacation, the fact-checkers have mobilized to bust out differing explanations for what the video shows.
Snopes blamed “poor quality video” for people thinking Biden had fallen asleep.
Low-quality videos and images lend themselves well to spreading false rumors. https://t.co/3V6uyCM4tw
— snopes.com (@snopes) August 22, 2023
In their article, they offered a clearer video from CSPAN as proof that Biden’s eyes were open the whole time - though the video doesn’t show that. Newsweek also referenced this video in their fact-check, which they claim proves Biden was “blinking as his head is down,” while PolitiFact says it proves Biden was "blinking and nodding."
No one seems to be convinced, as the top comment on Snopes’ video is “Thanks for proving he was dozing off at the beginning of the clip.” Though in my opinion, it would be most accurate to say that Biden was struggling to stay awake during the ceremony - which isn’t a great look giving the seriousness of the subject matter.
Meanwhile at NBC, the narrative is that Biden was merely bowing his head in respect.
No, Biden was not sleeping at the Maui memorial. He was bowing his head in solemnity. https://t.co/lHbOb2rvHA
— Benjamin Ryan (@benryanwriter) August 23, 2023
Was he bowing his head in respect, or did he have his eyes open the whole time, or was he blinking and/or nodding? All the fact-checkers agree on is that whatever Biden did couldn’t possibly have been anything worth criticizing
Matt Palumbo is the author of Fact-Checking the Fact-Checkers: How the Left Hijacked and Weaponized the Fact-Checking Industry and The Man Behind the Curtain: Inside the Secret Network of George Soros
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