Did President Joe Biden die a few years ago and an impersonator wearing a Biden silicone mask appear in his stead in public? No, that's not true: The video showing Biden during a visit to Ireland focused on wrinkles on his sagging neck when he scratched it.
The claim appeared in a video on TikTok on May 18, 2023, under the title "Watch till the end, maybe you'll know what's behind the scenes." The video began with a popular German TV talk show that showed how hyper-realistic face masks, made from a flexible silicone material, are designed to imitate human features down to the tiny details. The Arabic caption during the 2:10-minute video, translated into English, claimed:
The real Biden died years ago, and now there is an impersonator wearing a fake world mask.
In a tweet, Stefan Raab, the host of the show "Total" on channel Pro7, is quoted:
Masks are of such high quality that they can transform anyone.
Stefan Raab,host of the show "Total" on channel Pro7 .."Masks are of such high quality that they can transform anyone".👇🏻 pic.twitter.com/kLJwB9J0XG
-- Ivana (@Ivana66157567) February 19, 2023
At 1 minute 59 seconds, a 12-second clip showed 80-year-old Biden talking to a group of people during a visit to Dublin, Ireland, on April 12, 2023. At one point, Biden scratched the back of his neck, causing a slight wrinkling of sagging skin. This was used to substantiate the silicone mask claim. Lead Stories debunked a similar claim about Biden himself wearing a silicone mask during his Ireland visit.
In the current video, a woman's voice says in English:
Oh, my gosh, this is a mask. Holy cow!
This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:
(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Mon May 22 11:10:57 2023 UTC)
But Biden is alive and well. The day the video was posted, the president flew to Hiroshima, Japan, for the Group of Seven (G7) Summit there.
CNN broadcast live coverage of the president taking selfies with American troops there ahead of several other public appearances during that day, according to his schedule on Fact Base.
