Video Does Not Show Biden Wandering Off into Amazon Rainforest

A video described as showing U.S. President Joe Biden wandering off aimlessly into the Amazon rainforest after giving a speech circulated online in November 2024. Biden was in Brazil on a trip that marked the first time a sitting U.S. president visited the world’s largest tropical rainforest.

On Nov. 17, the conservative X account End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) shared (archived) a 12-second clip showing Biden walking away from a microphone. The user added the caption, “Did the President of the United States just wander off into the Amazon?” The post received over 6.3 million views.

Other conservative users on X — including the Republican National Committee’s RNC Research (@RNCResearch) account (archived) — posted the same video with text captions signaling the same rumor.

The popular Pop Base (@PopBase) user posted the same video, noting correctly that Biden’s visit was the first of its kind for a sitting U.S. president. That post and video received more than 54 million views. A different user reposted (archived) the @PopBase post, asking, “where is he walking off to lmao.” That user’s repost displayed over 357,000 likes.

Some news outlets described the video similarly. Newsweek ran the headline, “Video of Joe Biden Wandering Into Amazon Rainforest Goes Viral.” The British tabloid The Telegraph posted on X, “Joe Biden wanders into the Amazon rainforest following a speech on climate change.” The Independent published a YouTube video with the title, “Joe Biden appears to wander off into Amazon rainforest after historic climate speech.” In two other YouTube videos, Sky News Australia published the titles, “‘Bizarre’: Joe Biden disappears into Amazon rainforest” and “Joe Biden ‘wanders into the Amazon’ after delivering remarks.”

All of these descriptions were inaccurate, however. We’ve therefore rated the claim that the video showed Biden wandering off or disappearing into the Amazon rainforest as miscaptioned. The reason why: These online users and publishers falsely claimed the video showed Biden walking aimlessly into the rainforest on an unmarked pathway. An extended video from the same broadcast showed the president and other individuals entered and exited from the same direction on a marked pathway obscured from the fixed camera angle.

The Internet Archive’s TV News Archive hosted the extended videos originally broadcast live by C-SPAN. For example, prior to Biden’s speech, at the 0:47 mark of this clip, readers can view an unidentified person emerging from the pathway. Several minutes later, another clip showed Biden entering from the pathway and walking toward to the microphone. Following his speech, a third clip displayed other individuals — including members of the press — coming and going from the same pathway obscured from the camera angle.

Biden delivered the speech and signed an International Conservation Day proclamation on Nov. 17 at the Museum of the Amazon in Manaus, Brazil. Reuters reported the trip centered on the dangers of global warming.

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