Video shows members of Congress talking, not Obama being questioned by aide | Fact check
The claim: Video shows aide questioning Obama
A Facebook video shows several legislators speaking at a House committee hearing.
"'OBAMA KNEW IT' Trump has VICTORY laugh after aide GRILLS Obama with SH0CKING Hunter's Mexican photo," reads the caption of the June 9 post (direct link, archive link).
The video was shared more than 9,000 times in two weeks.
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Our rating: False
Former President Barack Obama does not appear in the video. The only people who speak in the video are current legislators. No one is questioned by an aide, and nobody says, "Obama knew it."
Obama does not appear in video
The video shows Republicans Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona, Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina and Rep. Andrew Clyde of Georgia speaking during a Sept. 20, 2022, House Oversight Committee hearing. The representatives were speaking in support of a resolution that would request documents from President Joe Biden about his family's business dealings.
The behavior of the president's son, Hunter Biden, has been particularly scrutinized by House Republicans. All three congressional speakers mention him in the Facebook video. Hunter Biden agreed to plead guilty to two misdemeanor counts of tax evasion and participate in a pretrial program for a firearm offense, according to June 20 court fillings.
But at no point in the video does an aide directly criticize or question Obama, who is not in the video. Similarly, no one says, "Obama knew it."
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Paste BN has debunked numerous posts that pair false captions with videos of politicians or cable news programming, a type of misinformation known as "false framing."
Mike Caulfield, a research scientist at the University of Washington’s Center for an Informed Public, previously told Paste BN the technique works in two ways. First, users tend to trust a post that features authentic footage from what they recognize as a credible source. It also exploits how users often scroll past the video with the sound off, never realizing the caption doesn’t match what the video shows.
Paste BN reached out to the Facebook user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
PolitiFact also debunked the post.
Our fact-check sources:
- Forbes Breaking News (YouTube), Sept. 23, 2022, 'His Emails Show It Was A Lie': GOP Rep Shreds Biden Claim He's Not Involved In Hunter's Business
- Congresswoman Nancy Mace, Sept. 20, 2022, Rep. Mace Questions Administration's Ties to Foreign Business Dealings
- Congressman Andrew Clyde, Sept. 20, 2022, Facebook post
- Congress.gov, Sept. 20, 2022, H.Res.1243 - Of inquiry requesting the President transmit certain documents in his possession to the House of Representatives relating to the Biden family's international business schemes and related information
- Paste BN, Feb. 9, Hunter Biden, White House, House GOP clash over widening investigation of Joe Biden's son
- Paste BN, June 12, Hunter Biden's drug use back in public eye as criminal charges could be around the corner
- Paste BN, June 20, Hunter Biden to plead guilty to two tax charges, resolve federal gun violation: DOJ
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