Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden in Washington on Dec. 21 has prompted the spread of an altered photo that appears to have been edited to show Biden’s hand touching Zelenskiy’s backside.
Social media users have shared a photo of President Biden, President Zelenskiy and U.S. first lady Jill Biden that purports to show President Biden touching President Zelenskiy’s rear (here) (here) and (here).
However, the original photo, shared by the First Lady online (here) shows President Biden’s hand was in fact photographed on Zelenskiy’s back.
The photo was taken during Zelenskiy’s visit to the White House, the Ukrainian president’s first trip outside of Ukraine since Russia’s invasion (here).
There are several similar images of the visit online (here). None from a credible source shows the scene shared in the altered photograph.
VERDICT
Altered. A photo depicting U.S. President Biden touching the backside of Ukrainian President Zelenskiy has been edited. In the original photo, Biden is seen touching Zelenskiy’s back.
This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our work to fact-check social media posts here .
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