Clip of Jill Biden being slammed on US talk show over husband’s track record is doctored

As the US campaign trail heats up ahead of the November election, social media is awash with false claims targeting the presidential candidates. Nigerian users have shared a video allegedly showing Jill Biden being attacked on the popular American chat show The View over her husband’s track record in office. In reality, AFP Fact Check found that the clip was doctored by an Iranian comedian for satirical purposes.  

“Which Nigerian Journalist has the liver to do this? Me: @ruffydfire. Tag your own,” reads an X post that has gathered more than 1,000 shares since it was published on June 7, 2024.

Screenshot of the post on X, taken on June 14, 2024

The accompanying video shows US First Lady Jill Biden appearing on The View, a popular TV panel co-hosted by Whoopie Goldberg, which discusses current affairs and societal issues.

Jill is seen speaking about the achievements of her husband Joe Biden, who is seeking reelection in November against his Republican rival Donald Trump.

In response to her comments, we then see what appears to be a male participant on the show calling her out over what he considers Biden’s failure as a president.

“Joe has been in politics for 48 years, including his presidency. Yet you have nothing to show for [it],” he tells her.

The clip ends with a seemingly uncomfortable silence by the other female co-moderators, including Goldberg.

The footage was shared by a Nigerian account called “Capt. Jamil(SkyDanfoDriver)” with more than 221,000 followers.

Many of the subscribers seemed to believe the claim.

“That's a strong woman there, to be able to swallow all that truth and smile like it's just crap,” one user wrote, while another said: “Gosh! He left them stunned.”

The account behind the post regularly shares random lifestyle content.

However, the footage showing Jill Biden getting a tongue-lashing has been edited.

Satire

The video includes a logo in the top right corner that reads “Catch Up”.

Using the InVID-WeVerify tool, AFP Fact Check extracted keyframes from the clip and conducted reverse image searches.

The results revealed that the same footage had indeed been shared by an account on X called Catch Up archived here). According to its bio, it posts “saucy news, culture, memes, viral videos, and commentary”.

The account shared the Jill Biden clip with its 93,700 followers on May 30, 2024, along with the caption: “Jill Biden tried her best to make Joe Biden appealing; failed miserably as guest absolutely demolished her with reality.”

But the search results also led to this video published on The View’s official YouTube channel  (archived here).

All the hosts and Jill Biden could be seen in the same frame 55 seconds into the 8’18” clip. The man who lambasted the American first lady is not among them.

A screenshot shows the show’s all-women hosts and Jill Biden, taken on June 14, 2024

In the video, Jill was being interviewed about her new children’s book “Willow the White House Cat”, the 2024 presidential poll and the role of women voters.

The extract used in the misleading claim is found between 3'34” and 4'03” in the original clip.

The logo of The View is visible in both clips in the bottom left corner.

Screenshots show The View logo in both videos, taken on June 14, 2024

AFP Fact Check also traced the video to the TikTok account of Damon Imani, who describes himself as an “Iranian producer and artist based in Denmark”.

Imani posted the Jill Biden video on TikTok and other social media accounts including Instagram on May 30, 2024.

The caption used by Catch Up is also found on Imani’s post - except that the latter also says “satire but true”.

The timeline on Imani’s social media accounts shows that he has made other clips like the one with Jill Biden and inserted himself as a commentator.

His website states that he is “known for his satirical approach… to societal and political issues”.

Imani told AFP Fact Check his work was aimed at countering Western “propaganda”.

“In the West, news coverage has transformed into a tool for repression and manipulation,” he said.

“Amidst this propaganda spiral, it's crucial to speak truthfully about the critical issues at hand. This is why I created a format that does exactly that.”