Original article (in B/C/S) was published on 31/7/2024; Author: Marija Manojlović
The absence of U.S. President Joseph Biden from the public after his COVID-19 diagnosis has fueled conspiracy theories claiming that he is “dying,” “already dead,” or “murdered.”
During his stay in Las Vegas on July 17, 2024, the current president of the United States of America, Joseph Biden, was diagnosed with COVID-19. The White House then, as reported by the media, said that the US president was experiencing “mild symptoms” and that he was planning to fly to his home in Delaware, where he would continue to perform his duties while in self-isolation. A few days later, on July 21, Biden announced that he had dropped out of the US presidential race.
These events encouraged the spread of various rumours about the condition of the American president, which were also shared by the media in our region. On July 23, the web portal Fakti published an article reporting the statements of journalists Tucker Carlson and Charlie Kirk about Biden’s health and questions whether the American president is even alive.
WORLD famous American journalist Tucker Carlson said that it is possible that US President Joe Biden is dying or that he has already passed away, since he suddenly disappeared and did not continue to fight in the election race even though he promised to do so.
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Carlson quoted journalist and public figure Charlie Kirk as saying he spoke with a law enforcement source who revealed that the Secret Service, which is responsible for the security of the state’s elite, had notified Las Vegas police of the emergency situation with Biden and asked them to block off the streets so he can be rushed to the clinic. The Secret Service then notified Vegas police that they would evacuate the president to Johns Hopkins Medical Center.
Apparently, there were rumors in the police department that Joe Biden was dying. Or maybe he’s already dead.
The same article, featuring different titles, was also shared by WebTribune, Inter Magazine, Srbin (.info), Objektivno, In4s and Srbija javlja.
In an article published on July 23, 2024, the web portal Informer, also conveyed the “doubts” expressed by Tucker Carlson and Charlie Kirk, but also cited two more pieces of “evidence” that led to the conclusion that Biden is not alive. An article published by the web portal Logicno on July 24 was written similarly, and is based on the statements of Republican congresswoman Lauren Boebert, who repeats Kirk’s statements. Although these articles also mention the announcement of the White House on the health of the President of the United States of America, that is, the details of Biden’s doctor’s report, which confirm that the American President is in good health, they are written in such a way that this information is being questioned. The focus of these articles is dominantly on the suspicions that the American president is dead, which received more focus than the denials of the White House.
In their posts, users of social networks also spread various insinuations and claims that Biden is dying, that he has already died or that he has been murdered. The X account of Srpski Info Stab shared the footage, that is, the photograph, on two occasions with the claims that they show the “last footage” and “the last authentic footage of a living Biden” (1, 2), but also the question “is Biden alive”. The same account later published a screenshot of the previously mentioned articles with statements by Tucker Carlson and Charlie Kirk, and in this case, the question was featured in the title of the post: “Deep State Murdered Biden?”.
Is Biden alive?
After the current US President Joseph Biden was diagnosed with COVID-19 during his stay in Las Vegas on Wednesday, July 17, he flew to Delaware the same evening. The media published a photo of the American president leaving Las Vegas that day, that is, entering the plane. Biden was also seen getting off the plane in Delaware on July 17.
A few days later, on Sunday, July 21, Biden revealed on the X social network that he had given up the race for the US presidency. On July 22, the US president called his former campaign staff, and the recording of his conversation with Kamala Harris is publicly available, as is the transcript published on the White House website.
The American president appeared in public again on Tuesday, July 23, when he was seen boarding a plane in Delaware. In a public address on July 24 from the White House, Biden said on camera that he had withdrawn from the election race against Donald Trump.
After that, he continued to perform presidential duties upon his return to the White House. Among other things, a day later he met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which was also recorded by the cameras.
Therefore, insinuations that Biden is not alive, or that he has been “murdered”, are unfounded and meaningless. Available information indicates that Biden was indeed not seen in public from landing in Delaware on July 17th until leaving Delaware on July 23rd, except for a telephone conversation with Kamala Harris on July 22nd. Nevertheless, although he did not appear in public, Biden regularly performed presidential duties. According to FactCheck.org, on July 19, Biden received information about the problems with the American cyber security company CrowdStrike and the drone attack in Tel Aviv; On July 20, he spoke with the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and on July 21, he spoke with members of Congress, governors and supporters. Also, the reports of Biden’s doctor, who reported daily on the condition of the American president, were publicly available (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6).
In conclusion, Tucker Carlson and Charlie Kirk, who spoke at this year’s Republican Party Convention (1, 2), as well as Republican politicians, willfully ignored all of this evidence that pointed to the US President being alive, and have decided to spread conspiracy theories which eventually reached sources in our language.
Therefore, the claims of journalists Tucker Carlson and Charlie Kirk suggesting that it is possible that the President of the USA Joe Biden “is dying or that he has already passed away, since he suddenly disappeared”, published on the web portal Fakti and others who shared the article, we assess as fake news and conspiracy theory, that is, the distribution of fake news and conspiracy theory. Social media posts claiming or insinuating that Biden is already dead, dying, or murdered also receive the same ratings.
We assess articles from the web portals Informer and Logicno as manipulation of facts since they contain statements from the White House or Biden’s doctor but do not focus on these statements. Instead, the articles primarily emphasize suspicions that the American president is dead.
