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In the following video, US president Joe Biden is shown being interviewed in the open air. Reporters are holding microphones. In a couple of places the video shows Biden's hands appearing 'magically' in the foreground of the microphones when perspective and logic suggest they should be behind.

Is there some CGI trickery going on here? (Keep your eye on the black and gray furry mike-covers and Biden's hands).

Biden Fakes Interview, Green Screen Fails (video)

Note that the effect is very obvious when played at slow speed.

PausePause
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chasly - supports Monica
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    I don't know where the downvote came from, but keep in mind the purpose of this site. While this is a ridiculous claim, it is a ridiculous claim that has lots and lots of views (over 900000 views!) on YouTube. That makes it very notable, and that in turn makes it a good question for this site. – David Hammen Mar 28 '21 at 17:16

2 Answers2

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Politifact has done the work here.

Steve Herman, a Voice of America reporter who was holding one of the microphones, tweeted about the rumors on March 17. "I was the one holding the lighter-colored fuzzy microphone and thus literally in front of @POTUS on the South Lawn," Herman wrote. "It’s all real."

Herman also shared a video created by Mick West, who writes about conspiracy theories. In the video, West explains that because the microphones were on long booms, which enable reporters to maintain physical distance from the president amid the coronavirus pandemic, they give the illusion that something is amiss.

He recreated a similar scenario in his own yard and filmed it from different angles. The effect is the same.

See also a tweet from Steve Herman (the man holding the microphone) and Snopes

Here is a photo of the interview taken from the side.

DJClayworth
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    [Snopes](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/biden-green-screen/) has also addressed this, as has [the person who held the microphone in question](https://twitter.com/W7VOA/status/1372256421304270849?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1372256421304270849%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fmashable.com%2Farticle%2Fjoe-biden-green-screen-conspiracy-debunked%2F) – David Hammen Mar 26 '21 at 21:02
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    *"He recreated a similar scenario in his own yard"* That would be worth seeing. Does this video exist? Do you have a link? – chasly - supports Monica Mar 28 '21 at 17:40
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    @chasly-supportsMonica https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_QQ2xj-nwQ&t=82s – Fizz Mar 28 '21 at 18:37
  • It's worth noting there's also an element of forced perspective--the boom mikes are larger than the handheld mikes, so for most people the mic looks a lot closer to the camera than it really is. The mike was actually quite close to his body. – Cristobol Polychronopolis Apr 06 '21 at 15:04
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    "is fake because man who claims to have been there claims it is fake" - not a great answer to me. I would like to see the video recreation. Is there no higher quality source footage anywhere? – Felipe Apr 06 '21 at 22:35
  • @chasly-supportsMonica - this seems a pretty definitive and conclusive answer. – jdunlop Apr 17 '21 at 06:00
  • @jdunlop - Thanks for your comment. Please see my thread on Meta https://skeptics.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/4735/how-do-i-counter-inadequacies-in-answers-to-my-question-if-more-than-a-comment-i – chasly - supports Monica Apr 17 '21 at 11:13
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    I'd mention the intense lack of any gravity the video's content has. Other than containing Biden's face, there's nothing of significance said or done. A well organized conspiracy makes shoddy fakes of nothing happening? There's a lot of cognitive dissonance required to believe this one. –  Apr 17 '21 at 23:40
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While the question has been answered with links to fact-checkers, I think it's worth adding a video that shows just how this effect occurs, because it might not be obvious to people who aren't in the film/video industry. (It certainly wasn't obvious to me.)

Explained: Why This Video of Biden and a Dead Cat Looks Fake, but Isn't.

It's a matter of perspective, and also a matter of the fact that the dead cat microphone really is enormous, much bigger than one might think who isn't familiar with such devices.

Kyralessa
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