Fact Check

Does a Video Show a Maskless Biden Birthday Celebration in 2020?

A viral tweet with a video read: "They’re telling us to social distance & wear mask! But as you can see... they’re not! It’s all lies to control us!"

Published Nov. 20, 2020

 (Twitter)
Image courtesy of Twitter
Claim:
A video showed President-elect Joe Biden celebrating his birthday with a maskless group of people in 2020.

On Nov. 20, 2020, President-elect Joe Biden turned 78 years old. Keisha Lance Bottoms, the mayor of Atlanta, tweeted a video showing a birthday celebration with Biden:

However, this video was shot in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic began to ravage the U.S. Bottoms tweeted a clarification about an hour later, saying the clip was from Biden's previous birthday on Nov. 20, 2019:

The clarification did not stop the false rumor that the birthday song video was from 2020 from spreading, however:

The video showing a maskless Biden celebrating at a birthday party was from 2019 and was not captured during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic of 2020.

Jordan Liles is a Senior Reporter who has been with Snopes since 2016.