Deceptive audio edits exaggerate sounds of Biden hecklers (2024)

Not everyone who showed up to greet President Joe Biden in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in January was pleased to see him. But a deceptively edited video shared on social media made it sound like the crowd was overwhelmingly aggressive and insulting.

The Instagram video showed Biden walking into a bike shop as protestors loudly chanted, "F--- Joe Biden." Text over the video read, "Joe’s warm welcome to Allentown, Pa."

This post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)

The Daily Mail shared the same video on its website with a caption misspelling "Allentown" that said, "US president Joe Biden was met with cheers, boos, and one man shouting ‘loser!’ on his visit to stores in Allenstown, Pennsylvania, to tout economic progress."

Featured Fact-check

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The video’s audio is different from the one in the Instagram video. Some in the crowd cheered as Biden walked into the shop. One person yelled, "Loser!" But no one shouted the expletive-laced chant.

Forbes Breaking News shared the unedited video on its YouTube channel with the title, "JUST IN: Man Yells ‘Loser!’ at Biden During His Visit To Allentown, Pennsylvania."

A Jan. 12 New York Post article about the incident said that one person shouted, "Go home, Joe!" and the Daily Mail reported that protestors calling for a ceasefire in Gaza lined up by Biden’s motorcade in Allentown and called him "genocide Joe."

But they did not chant the "F" word at him, so we rate the claim that protestors yelled "F--- Joe Biden" as the president arrived in Allentown, Pennsylvania, False.

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