An image shared on Facebook has been altered to show President Joe Biden groping a woman resembling White House press secretary Jen Psaki.<\/p>\n
“Soooo, let’s (circle) Back to How you got that JOB Jen?” the caption\u00a0reads.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Since being posted May 14, the image has\u00a0been shared over 700 times.<\/p>\n
USA TODAY reached out to the user for comment.<\/p>\n
Fact check: <\/strong>Misleading post connects Biden comment that ‘country is doomed’ with African Americans<\/span><\/p>\n But the photo spreading online is actually the result of two different alterations of\u00a0a 2013 photograph.<\/p>\n The photo has gone through two rounds of digital manipulation: the first to move Biden’s hands onto a woman’s breasts, and the second to add Psaki’s face.<\/p>\n There are multiple versions of the image. Some of them\u00a0share more blatant implications that Psaki was inappropriately touched.<\/p>\n The original photo shows\u00a0Biden hugging then-White House correspondent Amie Parnes from behind, his hands on her waist. Parnes’ hands are on top of Biden’s, and both are smiling. The original photo was posted to Parnes’ Facebook page, according to a Today article, but it’s no longer there.<\/p>\n Fact check: <\/strong>Biden administration didn\u2019t \u2018reject\u2019 National Day of Prayer<\/span><\/p>\n The photo was taken during a 2013 holiday party at the vice presidential\u00a0residence in Washington, D.C.\u00a0Biden’s wife, Jill Biden,\u00a0and NBC producer Chris Donovan are also in the picture, Today also reported.<\/p>\n The manipulated image was first published by World News Bureau, a self-described satire website, on Dec. 16, 2013.<\/p>\n In that first alteration, the website\u00a0moved Biden’s hand onto Parnes’ breast, and added a bottle of liquor to Biden’s pocket.<\/p>\n The World News Bureau website has a disclaimer toward the bottom of the home page\u00a0that reads: “This is fictitious satire and any resemblance to persons, places, or events is coincidental.”<\/p>\n The image went viral on Facebook in 2017, when it received nearly 250,000 shares and 5,500 comments. Its caption read: “Gropin’ Joe Biden with a woman not his wife. Why isn’t the media on his case? Oh yeah, 2020 is coming.”<\/p>\n Fact check: <\/strong>NRA claim overstates Biden’s remarks on gun control<\/span><\/p>\n It resurfaced again in 2019.<\/p>\n The Psaki\/Parnes manipulated image is not the only one of its kind.<\/p>\n World News Bureau has shared other doctored images of Biden\u00a0that portray him groping women, including one with Stephanie Carter, the\u00a0wife of former Defense Secretary Ash Carter.<\/p>\n The manipulated images of Biden play on previous accusations that\u00a0Biden\u00a0behaved inappropriately toward women.<\/p>\n In April 2019, when Biden announced his candidacy for president, Tara Reade, who had been an aide when he was a senator, accused him of “inappropriate touching.” In April 2020, she filed a police report alleging\u00a0Biden had sexually assaulted her in 1993. Biden’s campaign denied the assault took place, USA TODAY reported.<\/p>\n Fact check: <\/strong>Viral TikTok shows Biden consoling his grandson at Beau Biden’s funeral<\/span><\/p>\n In a two-minute video following Reade’s initial allegations in 2019, Biden said\u00a0he often gets close to people when talking to them to show he cares about them and that he’s listening.<\/p>\n “It’s the way I’ve tried to show I care about them and I’m listening,” he said. “The boundaries of protective personal space have been reset, and I get it. I understand. And I’ll be much more mindful, that’s my responsibility.”<\/p>\n We rate\u00a0ALTERED an image showing Biden groping Psaki. The original photo, taken in 2013, shows Biden hugging a White House reporter with his hands on her waist. That image has been manipulated to show Biden’s hands on the reporter’s breasts and then manipulated again\u00a0to add Psaki’s face, who wasn’t in the original picture.<\/p>\nPsaki not in original photo<\/h2>\n
In 2013 image, Biden’s hands at reporter’s waist<\/h2>\n
Biden faced claims of inappropriate behavior<\/h2>\n
Our rating: Altered<\/h2>\n
Our fact-check sources:<\/h2>\n
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