Despite mounting evidence of President Biden's cognitive decline, the Biden administration and media allies have resorted to labeling viral videos as "cheap fakes," dismissing concerns as partisan attacks. However, experts argue that the media's eagerness toparrot the White House's spin reveals a clear bias.
The recent avalanche of coverage from liberal news outlets on so-called "cheap fakes" has sparked controversy over the portrayal of President Biden's cognitive abilities. The term "cheap fakes" refers to videos that critics allege show signs of Biden's decline, but that the White House and media dismiss as manipulated or misleading.
The Biden administration has been quick to label these viral clips as "cheap fakes," falsely suggesting that they have been manipulated by the RNC or other critics. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has even incorrectly called the videos "deepfakes," a misleading term as the videos are not created or edited with artificial intelligence technology.
The White House's "Cheap Fakes" Defense: A Disingenuous Attempt to Dismiss Biden's Cognitive Decline
Experts have expressed concern over the media's eagerness to parrot the White House's spin and dismiss concerns about Biden's capabilities. According to Jeffrey McCall, a journalism professor at DePauw University, "selective editing of video and putting spin on interpretations of events has been going on in American politics for a long time."
The Biden clips are primarily distributed by RNC Research on X, often accompanied by unflattering captions. However, the White House and media have falsely claimed that the clips were manipulated by the RNC, despite the lack of evidence to support this claim.
The White House's "Cheap Fakes" Defense: A Disingenuous Attempt to Dismiss Biden's Cognitive Decline
Prominent examples of these "cheap fakes" include footage showing Biden stepping away from other world leaders at the G-7 Summit to give a thumbs up to parachutists off-camera, and Biden standing still while others danced and swayed at a Juneteenth concert.
Media outlets such as NBC News, The Washington Post, and the Associated Press have defended Biden in fact-checks, dismissing the concerns as baseless attacks. However, many of these fact-checks have been criticized for ignoring or downplaying evidence that contradicts their claims.
The White House's "Cheap Fakes" Defense: A Disingenuous Attempt to Dismiss Biden's Cognitive Decline
For instance, The Washington Post declared the G-7 incident a "fake story," while the AP dismissed the freezing claim from the Juneteenth concert by citing a 2009 interview in which Biden mentioned he "doesn't dance."
Critics argue that the media's refusal to acknowledge the videos' potential implications raises questions about their objectivity. Fox News contributor Joe Concha argues that Biden's decline is "unmistakable" and that the majority of voters see it.
The White House's "Cheap Fakes" Defense: A Disingenuous Attempt to Dismiss Biden's Cognitive Decline
Moreover, media critics such as William A. Jacobson, a professor at Cornell Law School, accuse the media and fact-checkers of "running cover for the Biden campaign." Jacobson believes that the media swarm to deny evidence of Biden's cognitive decline is a sign that the real election season has begun.
Partisans in the media have also been quick to reject interpretations of the videos that are unfavorable to Biden. CNN media reporter Oliver Darcy dismissed the freezing claim as a "fabrication," while MSNBC's Nicolle Wallace condemned the "highly misleading & selectively edited videos."
CBS News echoed the White House's claim that Biden is "victim to a simpler version of ‘deepfakes.’" However, CBS News was forced to remove its original report after labeling raw footage from the G-7 incident as "digitally altered video."
NBC News went further by attacking Big Tech for amplifying the "quickly debunked" G-7 Summit clip. The outlet claimed that the videos were "part of a concerted disinformation campaign," despite acknowledging that they had been widely circulated online.
"The Biden Campaign is utterly devoid of any vision or message for the future so they've resorted to gaslighting the American public and fool them into believing that which they experience and see in their daily lives is not real," a Trump campaign adviser told Fox News Digital.
The Biden administration's "cheap fakes" defense has been met with skepticism and criticism. Experts argue that the White House and media's eagerness to dismiss concerns about Biden's cognitive decline raises questions about their objectivity and raises concerns about the potential for gaslighting in the upcoming election.
