Twitter Labels Video of Biden ‘Manipulated Media’ Retweeted by Trump
A video of former Vice President Joe Biden is not what it seems according to Twitter.
A tweet sent out by White House Director of Social Media Dan Scavino received a “manipulated media” tag after the video appeared to be edited.
The tweet ends with Biden saying, “We cannot win this re-election, excuse me, we can only re-elect Donald Trump,” which is missing the rest of his statement.
President Donald Trump retweeted the video saying, “I agree with Joe!”
See the video below:
Sleepy Joe💤in St. Louis, Missouri today:
— Dan Scavino (@DanScavino) March 8, 2020
“We can only re-elect @realDonaldTrump.”#KAG2020LandslideVictory🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/FT4q2MWfcD
Just in: Twitter applied its new manipulated media label for the first time to a deceptively edited video of Joe Biden. It was shared by White House social media director Dan Scavino, and retweeted by the president. pic.twitter.com/PggcCwMNkx
— Cat Zakrzewski (@Cat_Zakrzewski) March 8, 2020
In Biden’s full statement, he says, “We can only re-elect Donald Trump if, in fact, we get engaged in this circular firing squad here.” He continues, “It’s got to be a positive campaign, so join us.”
However, Scavino has denied that the video was edited.
“The video was NOT manipulated,” he tweeted early Monday.
The video was NOT manipulated. https://t.co/p9QrNPYOvf
— Dan Scavino (@DanScavino) March 9, 2020
This is the first time that Twitter has applied the label to a tweet since rolling out the rule.
According to the website, “In order for content to be labeled or removed under this policy, we must have reason to believe that media, or the context in which media are presented, are significantly and deceptively altered or manipulated.”
The platform also considers whether the content has been shared in a deceptive manner and if it is likely to impact public safety or cause serious harm.
The video of Biden surfaces amid speculation of his cognitive function by some as IJR previously reported. During his Super Tuesday speech, he reportedly mixed up his wife and his sister’s names. Biden also made an error calling Super Tuesday, “Super Thursday.”
Biden is currently leading fellow Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders on the delegate count after a strong Super Tuesday showing. He also received an endorsement from the former 2020 presidential hopeful Kamala Harris. Michigan’s primary is slated for Tuesday, one of the most crucial as it is the largest of the six states voting that day.