A Facebook user, Beka Vardosanidze, whose pieces of disinformation have been verified by FactCheck in the past, posted a photograph on 21 February 2023 showing US President Joe Biden during his visit to Poland. The photograph features a carpet designed in blue and yellow – the colours of Ukrainian flag. Mr Vardosanidze claims that President Biden walked on Ukraine’s flag when greeting the public.
In fact, this photograph was taken before President Biden’s speech in Poland. Prior to the start of the event, the carpet was removed from the scene. Therefore, Mr Biden did not step on the carpet bearing the colours of the Ukrainian flag either during his greetings or during his speech.
The Washington Post’s livestream, uploaded on YouTube (4:14), clearly shows how the yellow and blue carpet is removed from the scene. It is also easily discernible from the photographs (1,2) taken after President Biden’s speech in Warsaw as well as in various other pieces of footage that he walked on a blue carpet.
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