Says Joe Biden was the only world leader to wear a face mask during a video conference.
Get PolitiFact in your inbox.
No, Biden wasn’t the only world leader to wear a mask during the virtual climate summit
If Your Time is short
- Joe Biden did at times wear a mask during the virtual climate summit because he was in a room in Washington with other people. Other world leaders also wore masks some of the time.
- Biden was also photographed speaking without his mask.
Forty world leaders recently gathered in a video conference for a virtual climate summit hosted by the White House. But misleading claims about the meeting have since spread on social media.
"Biden wore a mask on a video call with world leaders," reads the text in a screenshot of one tweet showing a Zoom grid of world leaders, including President Joe Biden. "Meanwhile, no one else wore a mask."
"Embarrassing," wrote one Facebook account sharing the tweet. "How can anyone possibly spread anything via *video?*"
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.)
Featured Fact-check
Though Biden appears to be the only person wearing a mask in the image that’s being shared on social media, the photo shows only about a quarter of the world leaders in attendance.
Other photos from the summit show both Biden not wearing a mask and other officials donning them.
And contrary to the suggestion that Biden was wearing a mask alone in a room, photos from the State Department show he was joined at different points by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, National Economic Council Director, Brian Deese, and aides.
We rate this post False.
Our Sources
Facebook post, April 25, 2021
The New York TImes, The virtual summit makes history, but proves even world leaders aren’t immune to tech issues, April 22, 2021
The New York Times, Biden’s intelligence director vows to put climate at ‘center’ of foreign policy, April 25, 2021
U.S. Department of State, Leaders summit on climate, April 22, 2021
Independent, Unmute, please: Echoes, glitches resound in virtual summit, April 22, 2021
The Australian, Biden climate summit: If they can’t work Zoom, can they control the climate? April 23, 2021
Gett Images, China-Beijing-Xi Jinping-climate-leaders summit, April 22, 2021
Browse the Truth-O-Meter
More by Ciara O'Rourke
No, Biden wasn’t the only world leader to wear a mask during the virtual climate summit
Support independent fact-checking.
Become a member!
In a world of wild talk and fake news, help us stand up for the facts.