No, this presidential seal doesn’t prove the Bidens pretended to celebrate Easter at the White House

The day after Easter, President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, hosted the first Egg Roll at the White House since the pandemic started. 

The White House shared footage of the April 18 event. The verified @POTUS Twitter account shared videos and photos. News outlets, like the New York Times, did the same. 

And yet, claims that the Bidens didn’t actually host an Egg Roll at the White House are spreading on social media. 

"Lol," one April 18 post said of a photo showing the Bidens waving from behind a planter full of flowers and a presidential seal. "Screenshot of Sleepy and Jill supposedly live at the WH for the Easter Egg Roll. Check it out that presidential seal guys !!!!!! FAKE NEWS! BUSTED!!!!"

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.)

It was echoed on Twitter. 

"Don’t believe the Fake news telling you and showing you the Biden’s Easter photo opp," an April 18 tweet said. "Below is the fake news photo on the left and the real Presidential seal from Google on the right.  Did the eagle dye his tail feathers white for Easter? Why is eagle smoking a cigarette?"

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The supposed fake seal, the one visible in a photo @POTUS tweeted that shows the Bidens flanked by people in bunny costumes, shows a bald eagle with a white tail. According to social media posts, the authentic seal features a brown tail. 

In both images, it could look as if the eagle is puffing on a pipe but what’s actually pictured is the bird holding the end of a banner in its beak that reads "E Pluribus Unum" — "out of many, one." 

The presidential seal as it exists today dates back to 1945, when Harry S. Truman was president.  A website for Truman’s Little White House — his winter retreat in Florida — does show an eagle with brown tail feathers on a page about the presidential seal and flag. 

But we found that brown-tailed eagle on a presidential seal in a few other credible places. That’s because the seal the Bidens stood in front of — at the White House on April 18 — is authentic. 

You can even see the same seal in footage of then-President Donald Trump and his family celebrating Easter at the White House in 2017. 

It appears in a 2013 Smithsonian Magazine story about the seal and is described as "the modern seal of the President of the United States." It’s also in a White House Historical Association’s post about the history of the presidential seal. And you’ll even find it on a Britannica page for kids about the U.S. presidential seal.

The seal is real, and so was the egg hunt.  We rate this ridiculous post Pants on Fire!