No, the man kissing, biting child in this photo is not Joe Biden

Multiple Facebook users have shared an image that they claim shows Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden holding a young girl and biting her on the cheek.

“You’re still going to vote for him?” text on one version of the photo asks. “Ladies and gentlemen. Your democratic presidential candidate!!!” another post says.

But the man in this picture isn’t Biden.

The image 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.) 

The photo is legitimate, but it was taken from a video of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador that he tweeted from his verified Twitter account on March 14. 

The clip shows López Obrador greeting a crowd and, at one point, holding, kissing and lightly biting the young girl’s cheek. The frame can be viewed around 25 seconds into the video.

At the time, López Obrador was criticized for continuing to hold large rallies and meet with crowds, where he shook hands, exchanged hugs and kissed cheeks as the coronavirus started to ramp up in Mexico.

Our ruling

Social media users shared a photo that they claim shows Joe Biden kissing and biting a young girl’s cheek.

The photo is authentic, but it shows Mexico’s president, not Biden.

We rate this False.

By

Samantha Putterman

Staff Writer

August 21, 2020

Truth-o-meter Ruling

False

IF YOUR TIME IS SHORT

• The photo is authentic, but it shows Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, not Joe Biden.

Statement

Says this photo shows Joe Biden kissing and biting a child on the cheek.

Context

a Facebook post

Speaker/Target

Speaker: Viral image

Statement Date

August 2, 2020