Month: January 2024

Claim:

President Joe Biden wore a hard hat backwards during a photo op with union construction workers in Superior, Wisconsin.

Snopes: False

Snopes say:

it does look, at first glance, like Biden was wearing that hard hat backwards. But after comparing it to other photos and videos of the same event, we were forced to reach the opposite conclusion: The hat on Biden’s head was facing forward, bill to the front, not backward.

Link to the article: https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/biden-wear-hardhat-backwards/

Here is a pdf of the article:

We say: True

Justification

Oh my dear god. Of course it is on backwards, the nape strap is on his forehead! Snopes try to conflate the direction of the bill/peak with the hats direction, when the internal structure (the suspension system) of the hat is intrinsically sitting backwards on his head when it should not.

This hat is not being worn correctly on his head and would offer no protection at all as it would easily fall off if knocked. Not to mention it must have felt awful on his head and probably left a bruise to boot.

Evidence

When thinking about hats peaks/bills, they do not dictate hat direction and will be different depending on the needs of the role that a hat is being worn for.

For example, is this firefighter’s hat backwards due to the peak being at the back?

No, it is there as protection for the neck.

There are many guides on the internet for how to wear a hard hat, and an example is below showing how the nape strap goes in the nape of your neck, at the back of your head!

This image is from bigrentz.com (an online construction equipment rental marketplace) and is part of a guide in how to wear a hard hat.

Linked here: https://www.bigrentz.com/blog/how-to-wear-a-hard-hat#:~:text=The headband of the hat, your hard hat less effective.

As in this diagram Joe Biden has a hard hat with a nape strap as above, that is supposed to be tightened at the back of your head.

bigrentz write:

The most important part of wearing a hard hat is ensuring its proper fit.

The ratchet located on the back of the nape strap allows for an adjustable fit that you can tighten or loosen each time you wear the hat

Conclusion

Does this even need a conclusion? It is clear that Snopes will literally say anything to appease their paymasters.

Anyone want to razz that fact check for being politically motivated in the face of the observable evidence?

Yes, I do!

Claim

A Photo taken of ex President Donald Trump was circulated in mid January 2024 (Possibly from at Clinton, Iowa, on Jan. 6) has been validated as authentic by fact checkers.

Snopes: True

Snopes say:

A close-up photo of former U.S. President Donald Trump’s face covered with what appears to be sweat and heavy orange makeup, or self-tanner lotion, is authentic.

Snopes contacted Maury via Messenger to ask if the picture had been altered prior to being submitted for licensing. He responded, “The picture is authentic. I took it on assignment for AFP.”

A Link to the original article: https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/trump-sweat-orange-photo/

Our rating: False

Justification

This is almost unbelievable in 2024. The fact checkers have lost it. Observing things from the UK makes me feel sick as to how America is falling.

The image of Donald has clearly been edited post capture to make him look ridiculous, with the aim being to score political points. The image is purported to have come from the AFP so I can only assume that this is true, and that someone there altered the image.

The basics:

• The image has been taken of ex President Donald Trump, presumably at a political rally. That much is correct.
• Yes, Donald probably uses product on his face but it is not bright orange
• The image has been altered around his face, with this region being cut out, possibly the eyes were left alone.
• The cut out part has been adjusted in photoshop (poorly) to increase the image saturation
• The altered part has then been stuck back over the original image leaving it obviously manipulated.

Evidence

Is this a “genuine” photo?

The genuine nature here refers to the fact that it is a photo of Donald. It is not a photo of someone else who has had Donald’s head pasted onto it. However the photo is not “genuine” in the sense that it appears as it was recorded by a camera, and there are notable changes to the original image that make it a manipulated image.

Look at this part of the image, of the side of Donald’s head –

This harsh line that you can see separating his hair from the guy behind, and reaching down around his ear. This is clear evidence of a pasted portion of the image which has been crudely cut out prior to manipulation. The bad “cut” around his ear show that part of the captured background has been altered beyond his head along with the intended changes.

On the left side of his head again from top to the bottom of his ear, you can see a very harsh line separating him from the background that is not present around any other person’s head in the image. Granted there is always a focus line when the subject of an image is in sharp focus, but this is beyond photography alone.

Around Donald’s collar the same harsh line can be seen again and his neck does not blend into the collar as it should.

Lastly, it is less clear here, but it is possible that Donald’s eyes may have been left alone and cut out and only the skin around them was adjusted.

As an example of the technique used, here is my attempt at doing the same thing as above to the UK’s Boris Johnson:

He looks rather hot under the collar, no?

And the original below:

Conclusion

Despite the assertion by fact checkers that the photo is “genuine” it clearly is not and has been tampered with after the image was captured. People are so lazy now at faking evidence and then lying about it. I really can’t imagine how anyone can take the media at face value anymore or believe fact checkers who back up obviously fake official narratives.

The wisdom of the anonymous crowd on the internet is correct in this case and the fact checkers are wrong.