Clip from 2023 Army-Navy game edited to include anti-Biden chants

What’s the claim?

The 2023 Army-Navy game took place on December 9, 2023, at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Following this game (an annual American college football tie between the Army Black Knights and the Navy Midshipmen), a video clip allegedly showing a crowd at the stadium chanting derogatory phrases about U.S. President Joe Biden during the game gained traction on social media. 

This video, shared with the caption "BREAKING: Massive 'F--- JOE BIDEN' chant breaks out at Army/Navy game," amassed hundreds of thousands of views on various platforms. An archived version of the post is available here.

Matt Wallace, known for his far-right social media influence and history of spreading misinformation, also shared the video. Logically Facts has debunked numerous claims previously made by him. His post, captioned “Entire Crowd at Army vs Navy Game Chants ‘F--- Joe Biden,’” was viewed 2.9 million times and reshared about 7,900 times. An archive version of his post is accessible here.

Screenshot of the claim made online (Source: X/@MattWallace888/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, the video has been manipulated to include the anti-Biden chants.

What we found

On conducting a reverse image search on keyframes from the video, Logically Facts uncovered the original version of the viral clip. It was first posted on X at 4:25 a.m. on December 10, 2023, by Keagan Stiefel, a Digital Content Producer at New England Sports Network (NESN).

The authentic video did not feature any derogatory chants against President Biden. Instead, an enthused crowd can be heard cheering and dancing to DVBBS and Borgeous' song "Tsunami." Stiefel captioned the video: “I’ve never experienced anything like #ArmyNavy. This is an unbelievable atmosphere.” This confirms that the video clip was doctored.

Further investigations revealed that the overlaid audio originated from a separate event. The audio used in the viral video was traced to a concert by country artist Aaron Lewis, as described in a YouTube video by Country Cast. Lewis reportedly joined a "F--- Joe Biden" chant at his show in Scranton, Pennsylvania, during the Staind and Korn summer tour in September 2021.

Screenshot of the viral video with profanities and the original video without anti-Biden chants. (Source: X/@MattWallace888/@KeaganStiefel)

Music Mayhem magazine reported on October 19, 2021, that during a concert in Scranton, Lewis encouraged the audience to chant "f--- Joe Biden." a sentiment echoed by many attendees and drummer Sal Giancarelli, adding rhythm to the chant. This occurred before his performance of “So Far Away.”

Notably, there have been no reports of the crowd using profanities against President Biden during the 2023 Army-Navy Game.

The Army-Navy Game is steeped in tradition. Typically played in December, it marks the end of the regular college football season and is celebrated for the rivalry between the two service academies.

The verdict

The video was edited to incorporate audio from a country music concert where the anti-Biden slogans were chanted. The original footage, in contrast, shows a stadium crowd at the Army-Navy Game without any anti-Biden chants. We have marked this claim as false.