Don’t believe everything when it comes to video clips of Biden and Trump

Misleading videos of President Biden fuel false narratives about his fitness for office, highlighting the power of social media.

President Joe Biden's simple act of sitting down while commemorating the 80th anniversary of D-Day in Normandy, France, gained more attention than the ceremony itself in some circles as social media users shared a shortened version of the clip to falsely claim he was reaching for a nonexistent chair.

The clip was the first of at least three out-of-context or trimmed videos shared widely over less than two weeks in June to fuel a narrative that Mr. Biden is mentally and physically unfit for office.

It's long been standard practice in politics to spin real moments to make an opponent look bad. Yet the recent spate of misleading videos — which amassed millions of views and were picked up by right-leaning outlets around the world — shows how the reach of social media and real concerns about Mr. Biden's age has made the tactic especially powerful in 2024.

Experts say voters can expect to see both Republicans and Democrats weaponising unflattering, out-of-context moments to label each other's presidential candidates as weak, confused or senile — especially considering their ages of 81 and 78. Indeed, edited and misrepresented clips have also circulated about former President Donald Trump.

“Any misinformation that seems to reinforce or resonate perceptions or dominant narratives, whether they're accurate or not, is very effective,” said Erik Nisbet, a professor at Northwestern University who studies media, public opinion and public policy in democracy and elections.

At the G7 summit in Italy, where Mr. Biden headed after Normandy, a clip of the President watching a skydiving demonstration was cropped to make it appear as though he wandered off for no reason. A wider view of the video shows he was greeting paratroopers who had just landed. And at a Los Angeles fundraiser last weekend, a pause by Mr. Biden as he left the stage amid cheers was used to say the President froze, while Mr. Biden's campaign said he was only stopping to take in the applause.

The clips have been especially effective at activating concerns about Mr. Biden's competency, according to Mr. Nisbet, because he is the oldest sitting president the U.S. has ever had, and he moves with more difficulty than he once did.