A claim has been disseminated in social networks saying that US President Joe Biden fell asleep when meeting people affected by wildfires in Hawaii. The publication includes a piece of footage as evidence which shows – according to the purveyors of disinformation – how the US President drowses off during the meeting.

In fact, this claim is false and this is proven by the original piece of footage.

If we take a look at the full video in higher quality, it appears that Mr Biden did not fall asleep after bowing his head. In a video released by ABC News' Honolulu affiliate KITV starting at 5:13, President Biden can be seen bowing his head. As the shot zooms in, it is clear that he is blinking. With his head bowed, he is then seen agreeing with one of the speakers who says "We are a community that stands for family, for ohana" (ohana is Hawaiian for family).

Since this fragment has gone viral in social networks, the Deputy Press Secretary of the White House responded to the claim. He retweeted one of the Congressmen who said: “Imagine the President of the United States falling asleep while you're describing the effects of the deadliest fire in the last 100 years. This is absolutely disgusting. Biden should resign from his post immediately.”

Mr Bates responded: “Actually, you have to ‘imagine’ it. Because it did not happen. What's ‘absolutely disgusting’ is how easy you find lying to your constituents.”

Therefore, the claim that Joe Biden fell asleep when meeting people in Hawaii is false.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This article was produced as part of Facebook’s Fact-checking Programme. Given the rating, Facebook may impose different restrictions – click here for full information. For information on issuing a correction or to dispute a rating, please see here.