FACT CHECK: Was Biden’s Farewell Speech Pre-Recorded?

A video shared on Facebook claims President Joe Biden’s farewell address was pre-recorded.

Verdict: False

Lead Stories debunked the claim on Jan. 16. The outlet reported that New York Times photographer Doug Mills shared a photo from the Oval Office that was consistent with the timing of the speech.

Fact Check:

Biden delivered his farewell address from the Oval Office on Jan. 15, according to The Associated Press. During his 15-minute address, Biden warned that an “oligarchy” is threatening American democracy, the outlet reported.

The Facebook video, which has received over 900 likes as of writing, claims Biden’s farewell address was pre-recorded. The video features an X post from Turning Point USA Contributor Graham Allen that reads, “SHOCKER! Joe Biden’s farewell address to America was PRE-RECORDER [sic]. The official livestream just accidentally caught his staff queueing it up.”

The video also shows files being viewed on a computer. Among the files is a black-and-white image of Biden with text indicating the date of his farewell address. The image appears larger after it is selected from the computer’s files.

The claim is false. In a Jan. 15 post shared on X, Eric Daugherty, assistant news director at Florida’s Voice, indicated that the video appeared to show image files from a computer’s operating system, not a pre-recorded address.

“Before Biden’s address, someone running the live feed accidentally showed their operating system. From what I can tell, they did not queue up a pre-recorded address, these are just image files…,” Daugherty wrote. “But definitely not out of the realm of possibility this was pre-recorded anyway,” he added.

Videos of Biden’s farewell address from ABC News, Fox News, and C-SPAN all note that the speech was streamed live, with ABC News including a chyron reading “LIVE,” and Fox News and C-SPAN stating the speech had been “streamed [live] one day ago” as of writing.

Likewise, Check Your Fact did not find any reference to the claim on the White House’s website or its verified social media accounts. Biden does not appear to have publicly commented on the claim, either. (RELATED: Did Donald Trump Not Place His Hand On His Heart During Carter’s Funeral?)

In addition, Check Your Fact found no credible news reports to support the claim. Actually, the opposite is true. On Jan. 16, Lead Stories debunked the claim. According to the outlet, Mills shared a photo of Biden in the Oval Office during the final moments of the speech. The timing of the photo was consistent with the time of the speech, the outlet reported.

Check Your Fact has contacted the White House for comment.