Was someone in a Joe Biden mask at the State of the Union? No, It was Biden himself

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., drew attention for wearing a KN95 mask at the State of the Union address, but rumors of another kind of face covering spread on social media after President Joe Biden’s speech. 

"What in the mask world is goin on hither?" reads one post showing photos of Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

"Seems like a mask issue last night," another post said, showing photos of just Biden. "One earlobe attached, one not." 

People commenting on the posts echoed what’s implied here: Biden — not to mention Harris and Schumer — weren’t actually at the State of the Union. But people wearing masks pretending to be them were. 

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stated on March 21, 2024 in an Instagram post

Video shows legislators “dancing in Congress” while the border is “overrun.”

These posts were flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)

These claims are unfounded, and fodder that we’ve dug into before, as people see skin folds, shadows and age as evidence of a plot to mislead the public about who the commander in chief really is. 

It’s Biden, and on Feb. 8, he delivered a speech before Congress. 

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