We came across different variations of this viral post on social media and circulating on group chats:
The claim is that US President, Joe Biden, passed away from a “massive heart attack,” and that this news is currently being hidden and suppressed by the White House. Further posts include footage that supposedly shows a “body bag” being rolled out of a door near the White House entrance and loaded on to a car.
However, some versions of this video circulating as “proof” also briefly show a timestamp –12:41 p.m. on 23rd June 2022 – undermining the claim that the President suffered a heart attack in early July 2023.
A reverse search of screenshots from the video – which appears to be footage from a security camera pointed at the White House entrance – brings up similar reposts on TikTok from 2022, although the origin of the video remains unclear. However, it is clear that the video is not proof of a body being wheeled out of the White House in July 2023.
We also attempted to find the source of the claim about Biden’s “massive heart attack,” and can only trace it back to an anonymous post on the platform 4chan on 1st July. In it, the poster begins with “don’t ask me how I know this” while also failing to either provide evidence or establish any credibility.
However, the lack of evidence does not appear to be a barrier to social media commentators picking up on the claim (sometimes altering it as the date of Biden’s supposed death varies from 1st to 3rd July across different posts). A look at the Biden’s official schedule does show an empty schedule across the first three days of July. However, it also shows a full schedule of meetings and public appearances by on 4th July, with the President delivering speech that was livestreamed on the White House Twitter page.
Therefore, we give the claim that Joe Biden died last week, and that his body was caught on video being wheeled out of theWhite House a rating of False.
Despite the clearly unsubstantiated nature of the claim (and subsequent proof that Biden is, in fact, alive) posts have continued to spread widely, being repeated by social media posts and in message groups. Some have also folded this claim into the wider conspiracy that Biden has a number of body doubles – or even that he died years ago and has been replaced by a series of “clones” or doubles since the start of his presidency.
This claim is a rather worrying example of a claim with almost no basis nevertheless managing to gain traction and believers – where the lack of evidence is seen as “proof of a conspiracy” rather than a lack of credibility.
