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Baseless Online Claims Target Biden Ahead of First Debate - FactCheck.org

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Quick TakeUnsubstantiated posts spreading on Facebook and Twitter claim former Vice President Joe Biden “got tonight’s debate questions in advance” and that he will be wearing an earpiece. There is no evidence for either assertion.Full Story&nbsp;In the hours before the first presidential debate, baseless and unsubstantiated claims about former Vice President Joe Biden swirled on social media.The unfounded assertions included claims that Biden was given the questions ahead of time and that he will wear an electronic earpiece during the debate.Baseless Assertion on Debate QuestionsOn and on Sept. 29, a conservative radio host pushed a baseless story that“Word on the street is that @JoeBiden got tonight’s debate questions in advance – per&nbsp; @KXEL1540,” Todd Starnes wrote in a shared more than 11,000 times.An article on his website spreading the claim was shared on Facebook nearly 3,000 times, according to . Its sole source was a recent interview conducted with Jerome Corsi, a and a key figure in Roger Stone’s stemming from the investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election.&nbsp;Chris Wallace, a Fox News anchor, is the first debate.A“In a Sept. 28 segment about Wallace’s preparation, Fox News’ Martha MacCallum :&nbsp;“Wallace says his questions for Tuesday night’s high-stakes, primetime matchup will not be shared with either campaign or the debate commission ahead of time.” (3:27)The of the debate, the Commission on Presidential Debates, publicly on Sept. 22 that Wallace had selected the topics for the debate. The topics include the records of President Donald Trump and Biden, the Supreme Court, COVID-19, the economy, election integrity and race and urban unrest.Two days later, on Sept. 24, Corsi made the unsubstantiated claim about Wallace giving Biden the questions in an with KXEL.“The information that I’ve just gotten — and I think, well, it’s always been accurate — is that Joe Biden has been given the questions from Fox’s Chris Wallace and he’s being prepared on the exact questions he’s going to be asked,” Corsi said in the interview.But Corsi — who also called Biden the “worst presidential candidate in my lifetime” during the interview — provided no evidence or sourcing to support his claim.We reached out to Corsi to ask what evidence he had to back up his allegation, but didn’t hear back.Unfounded Earpiece ClaimThe Trump campaign added more fuel to the pre-debate frenzy online when it released aclaiming that Biden had refused to comply with an inspection for electronic earpieces and had requested “multiple breaks.”By the end of the day, conservative Facebook pages were rife with baseless that the former vice president would actually be wearing an earpiece.Biden’s deputy campaign manager, Kate Bedingfield, reportedly called the claim “” on a call with journalists and, “The Commission on Presidential Debates didn’t immediately respond to our request for comment.But the New York Timeswhat it called “The Long History of ‘Hidden Earpiece’ Conspiracy Theories,” detailing the various partisan claims about surreptitious electronic communications used by presidential candidates since Rush Limbaugh accused Al Gore of using an earpiece during an appearance onMeet the Press”during the 2000 election.None of the earpiece claims noted in the New York Times story were ever proven to be true.The Trump campaign’s claim appears to have developed out of its request “to allow a third party to inspect the ears of each debater for electronic devices or transmitters,” according to an earlyfrom Fox News published on the morning of the debate.Although Biden’s campaign has denied the rumor that the former vice president would wear an electronic listening device during the debate, the memes that have spread widely. There’s no evidence to support that claim, though.Update, Oct. 1, 2020: In that largely targeted voters in swing states, the Trump campaign promoted both the claim that Biden had requested breaks and the unfounded suggestion that Biden would wear an earpiece, according to Facebook’s political ad library.This fact check is available at IFCN’s 2020 US Elections FactChat #Chatbot on WhatsApp. Clickfor more.SourcesKroll, Andy. “.” Rolling Stone. 4 Mar 2019.“.” Commission on Presidential Debates. 22 Sep 2020.Stein, Jeff. “.” News Talk 1540 KXEL. 24 Sep 2020.Donald J. Trump for President. Press release. “.” 29 Sep 2020.Rivera, Madeleine (@madeleinerivera). “” Twitter. 29 Sep 2020.Roose, Kevin. “.” New York Times. 29 Sep 2020.Ask SciCheckQ. Are vaccinated and boosted people more susceptible to infection or disease with the omicron variant than unvaccinated people?A. No. Getting vaccinated increases your protection against COVID-19. Sometimes, certain raw data can suggest otherwise, but that information cannot be used to determine how well a vaccine works.Have a question?

Quick TakeUnsubstantiated posts spreading on Facebook and Twitter claim former Vice President Joe Biden “got tonight’s debate questions in advance” and that he will be wearing an earpiece. There is no evidence for either assertion.Full Story&nbsp;In the hours before the first presidential debate, baseless and unsubstantiated claims about former Vice President Joe Biden swirled on social media.The unfounded assertions included claims that Biden was given the questions ahead of time and that he will wear an electronic earpiece during the debate.Baseless Assertion on Debate QuestionsOn and on...

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Baseless Online Claims Target Biden Ahead of First Debate - FactCheck.org

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