Social media users claim a picture shows US President Joe Biden facing the wrong direction while greeting Chinese President Xi Jinping in November 2023 near San Francisco. But the image is altered; photos and videos from AFP and other news organizations show the two shaking hands, and at no point is Biden misdirected.
“President Xi is patiently waiting for President Biden to turn around his body. To respect old people is a virtue in China,” says a November 16, 2023 post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The image circulated elsewhere on X, amassing thousands of interactions.
On November 15, Biden met with Xi on the sidelines of the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leader’s Week in Woodside, California to discuss an array of bilateral and global issues. It was the first meeting between the two leaders since they held lengthy talks one year prior in Bali on the sidelines of a Group of 20 summit.
Biden is often the target of altered or out-of-context visuals that make him appear confused or asleep during public appearances — playing to those who argue he is too old for the job at 81.
The doctored image of Biden and Xi is the latest example of that trend.
AFP photographer Brendan Smialowski captured several pictures of Biden greeting and shaking hands with Xi as they arrived for their meeting at an estate outside San Francisco.
Brendan SmialowskiAFP
Brendan SMIALOWSKIAFP
Both AFP and other news organizations also captured footage of the two exiting their vehicles and entering the estate (archived here and here). At no point does Biden face the wrong direction or ignore Xi.
More of AFP’s reporting on misinformation about US politics is available here.
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