U.S. President Joe Biden’s image morphed to claim he touched child inappropriately

(Trigger warning: This story includes descriptions of sexual violence. Reader discretion is advised.)

What is the claim?

An image showing U.S. President Joe Biden with a child is being shared on social media platforms, with the claim that he touched the child inappropriately. One such post on Facebook (archived here) included the same image, and the overlaid text on it read, “Is this enough to arrest him for sexual assault on a minor? Where are this kids parents and Why did they allow this to happen?” This particular image has been viral since December 2022 shared with similar accusations calling Biden a “pedophile,” and has resurfaced now. Archived versions of similar posts can be viewed here, here, and here. 

Screenshots show the viral posts circulating on social media.
(Source: X/Facebook/Screenshot/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, Biden’s hands have been digitally edited and blurred out to make it appear that he was touching the child inappropriately. 

What did we find?

A reverse image search of the viral picture led us to the unedited version of the photo uploaded by Associated Press (AP) News on October 15, 2021. The caption reads, “Joe Biden greets children as he visits the Capitol Child Development Center, Friday, Oct. 15, 2021, in Hartford, Conn.” The image shows the child stretching his t-shirt out to show it to Biden, and we can see Biden’s hands clearly on the t-shirt, pointing at something on it.

Comparison between the viral image and the original one captured in 2021. (Source: X/AP News/Screenshot)

We also found a video shared on the C-Span cable network, dated October 15, 2021, which showed Biden interacting with children at a childcare center in Hartford, Connecticut. Around 33 seconds into the video, we see a child approaching Biden, following which he kneels and points at the child’s t-shirt.

At the 0:41-second timestamp, we see the same visuals as in the viral post. Here, too, we can see Biden pointing at the child’s t-shirt, and his hands are clearly above the child’s t-shirt. He converses with other children and then proceeds forward. The video description reads, “President Biden visited with some children at a child care facility in Hartford, Connecticut, ahead of remarks on the need for investments in child care that he has proposed as part of his Build Back Better agenda."

Reuters reported that during his visit to the childcare center, Biden highlighted the essential aspect of his economic agenda, which is allocating funds for childcare, aimed at enabling parents, particularly women, to participate in paid employment.

The verdict

A digitally manipulated image of Biden with a child is circulating widely with a false claim that the president was caught touching a child inappropriately. However, the original picture shows him pointing at the child's t-shirt. Therefore, we have marked the claim as false.