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<\/p>\nAfter videos of President Joe Biden driving\u00a0Ford’s first all-electric truck\u00a0took over social media, some users doubted\u00a0it was actually him\u00a0behind the wheel.\u00a0<\/p>\n
During\u00a0a May 18 visit to Ford Motor Co.’s electric vehicle plant in Dearborn, Mich., Biden tested Ford’s F-150 Lightning pickup truck \u2013 set for release\u00a0in 2022.<\/p>\n
A May 19\u00a0article from the Gateway Pundit jumped on this visit to further the false but long-running conspiracy narrative that Biden is being controlled because he isn’t mentally or physically fit for the nation’s highest office.<\/p>\n
“WOW! Biden Caught Fake Driving – Someone Else is Steering Vehicle – It was All a Stunt!” screams the headline from Gateway, a far-right news and opinion website that frequently\u00a0distributesmisinformation.<\/p>\n
But video screengrabs that supposedly prove\u00a0a Secret Service agent was driving with a secondary steering wheel are misleading. Video published by the Associated Press clearly shows one steering wheel and Biden controlling the vehicle.<\/p>\n
Gateway Pundit declined to answer questions about their report\u00a0or provide evidence of their claims.<\/p>\n
Gateway Pundit claimed the truck Biden drove had two steering wheels, and that he wasn’t really driving. According to the site, it could be seen during a blurry video posted by C-Span.<\/p>\n
The claims are inaccurate, according to Melissa Miller, manager of government and public policy communications at Ford.<\/p>\n
“There was only one steering wheel in the vehicle the president drove,” Miller said in an email to USA TODAY.<\/p>\n
A frame-by-frame analysis\u00a0of the video shows the Secret Service agent in the passenger seat was reaching his hand toward the dashboard. About 1 minute, 22 seconds\u00a0into the video, a clear shot of the dashboard shows there isn’t a second steering wheel, just a DSLR camera.<\/p>\n
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President Joe Biden is back behind the wheel and bolting down the track. The self-described "car guy" takes a spin in the new Ford F-150 Lightning truck during a visit to a Ford safety testing center. (May 18)<\/p>\n
AP Domestic<\/span><\/p>\n And when Biden drives away, the video shows the agent has his hands on his lap, not on a steering wheel.<\/p>\n Fact check:<\/strong> Businesses can legally ask if patrons have been vaccinated. HIPAA does not apply.<\/span><\/p>\n USA TODAY found similar claims across Facebook and Instagram. Users shared images that allegedly show the interior of the truck has two steering wheels.\u00a0<\/p>\n Those images are actually from the interior of a Lexus LS 600hL, which Toyota developed\u00a0in 2017 to test if the car could drive itself. The car has dual steering wheels, dual breaks and dual accelerators.<\/p>\n We rate the claims that\u00a0a Secret Service agent was driving a truck instead of Biden\u00a0FALSE, based on our research. Ford confirmed the model Biden was driving had only one steering wheel, and a frame-by-frame analysis of the video shows the Secret Service agent was reaching for a camera placed on the dashboard.<\/p>\nOur rating: False<\/h2>\n
Our fact-check sources:\u00a0<\/h2>\n
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