Joe Biden’s eyes were blue during the debate, not black

We’ve already debunked allegations that Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden was wearing a wire during the first presidential debate and that he has a medical implant that lets him hear an aide tell him how to answer questions. A new entry in this category of misinformation claims that the former vice president’s eyes were black during the debate because he was wearing smart contact lenses.

"Well the Biden black eyes issue is solved," reads one Facebook post. "Mojo Vision! Essentially a screen right into the eyeballs via contacts…. Joe usually has blue eyes….this is why they are black at the debate and prior conferences, they did a tester." 

The post includes images comparing photos of Biden’s eyes — in one they’re blue, in the other they look brown.

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

We reached out to both the Biden campaign but did not receive a response.

First of all, Biden’s eyes weren’t black during the debate. You can see for yourself in this video of key moments from the event here. 

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Second, the "Mojo Lens" — the smart contact lens that a startup company called Mojo Vision is developing — is not yet on the market. 

"The lens has not been tested and certified for public use and therefore cannot be worn without being enrolled in Mojo’s clinical trial, which is managed in a controlled environment," a spokesperson for the company told us. "Mojo Lens has not been worn by anyone for any purpose outside of the Mojo team, nor do we have any plans in the near future for anyone to wear the product besides a Mojo team member or a participant in a clinical trial."

Because the contact lenses will be classified as medical devices, they need certification from the Food and Drug Administration before they can be marketed, sold and used by the public, the spokesperson said. 

In January, Fast Company reported that "using a display the size of a grain of sand to project images onto your retina," Mojo Vision could one day help firefighters navigate smoky rooms or allow hotel concierges to identify and greet new gusts "based on data called up from a database and displayed within the lenses."

However, the first version of the lens "will most likely be a base model containing a core set of features for people with vision impairments," according to Fast Company. More importantly for this fact check: the Mojo Vision said they wouldn’t be ready for two to three years. 

We rate this claim Pants on Fire!

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