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Several viral videos appeared recently, which depict Joe Biden debating "himself", by showing him having the completely opposite stance about an issue in different speeches, including memes about how the best opponent of Joe Biden is Joe Biden himself.

Are these videos (for example this one appearing on Trump's YouTube channel) depicting positions really expressed by Joe Biden at different times, or are they fake?

I would obviously consider it as fake if it turned out that either

  • the words were not even said by Biden
  • the excerpts are edited and cut together so that the meaning of his statements completely changes
  • the words are taken so out of context that in the original statement he was talking about something different.

I wouldn't consider it fake if the editing is made only to further emphasize or sensationalize his statements, given that he really did express those stated viewpoints. For example, a reporter asking him about fracking, then he says he supports it in one clip and that he wants to completely eliminate it in another clip, obviously not both of his statements were said as a response to that same reporter. But if he did really express those viewpoints, it wouldn't be considered "fake" for the sake of this question, just because the two statements were given to two different reporters.

For example, here is another video in the same style: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMSwAbDIUWU

Obviously it's a parody, and Biden is not responding directly to the "reporter" in the clip, but if he really did express those opinions, for the sake of the question it would be considered real, and if the videos are cut together so that the meaning of his words is thereby changed, it should be considered fake.

One criticism of this second video might be that the first question (police presence) shows him at visible different ages, so if they are taken decades apart, one might argue that his views have slowly changed over time. But most of the other excerpts are quite recent, regarding both his differing viewpoints.

vsz
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  • Analysis of such a thing would involve a lot of interpretation, no? That's problematic for this site. –  Oct 20 '20 at 14:40
  • @fredsbend : usually maybe, but the videos are about very clear and distinct positions. For example, supporting fracking and opposing fracking. So if he did really express views about both, that should be sufficient for saying that the video is genuine. But if someone can show the original clip from where he allegedly supported fracking and in the original he opposes it (and the video is made by cutting out the word "not" from a sentence), that would obviously prove the video fake. – vsz Oct 20 '20 at 14:42
  • Or else Biden is practising debating. Put the opposite case to help prepare your own case. Any good debtor is able to debate for ir against the same question – mmmmmm Oct 20 '20 at 14:52
  • @mmmmmm good point, but would he publicly boradcast it, and perform it from a podium, or on live television? I think in this case the burden of proof would fall on the ones saying it was just a practice. – vsz Oct 20 '20 at 14:56
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    Is this asking about holding two opposing views at the same time, or over time? People change their mind about issues. – Erik Oct 20 '20 at 15:05
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    I think there is a difference between supporting fracking and not banning it. – Joe W Oct 20 '20 at 15:24
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    The video linked shows Biden decades ago saying something with no context and applying it to current events. The video probably isn't fake but there's not enough context to say whether his views then and now are even contradictory. Even if they are contradictory, people's viewpoint changes over time. I'm surprised there aren't similar videos showing Trump's party affiliation over time, he was a democrat as recently as 2009. As far as I'm aware Biden has always been a democrat. – ewanc Oct 20 '20 at 15:34
  • @ewanc : yes, the first clip in the second video is indeed from decades ago, and I pointed that out in the question. All the others seem to be very recent ones. – vsz Oct 20 '20 at 15:49
  • Someone can't change their mind if it was recent? – Joe W Oct 20 '20 at 15:50
  • Are you asking did Biden change his stance on these topics or are you asking if Biden is responsible for these videos? – Joe W Oct 20 '20 at 15:52
  • @vsz even the recent clips have no context and are so chopped up the video could make him appear to say anything. The defund the police section for example seems to be only 2 words at a time. The video definitely is trying to push an agenda and put words in his mouth. As I said in my previous comment, people change their mind on any subject, but this is so devoid of context that you can't be sure his viewpoints differ – ewanc Oct 20 '20 at 15:57
  • A more testable question is whether any of the contrasts in the video are true. Checking all of the clips for veracity is well out of scope... – jeffronicus Oct 20 '20 at 18:28
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    1) We can't check the veracity of clips we haven't even seen, so let's focus on the one you provide. 2) Ideally, I would limit it to one issue, rather than three. 3) Please transcribe the quotes. 4) The question isn't whether the video is "fake" but whether the quotes are authentic and accurately convey his stated position. – Oddthinking Oct 20 '20 at 18:31
  • @Oddthinking : you formulated *exactly* what I wanted to ask, you just said it much better than me. I'll have to think how I can reformulate it to suit your description better (which I quite like, by the way) – vsz Oct 20 '20 at 20:30

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