1993 Image Used to Show ‘Biden’s Inaugural Stage’ at White House

An old image from the inaugural ceremony of Bill Clinton was shared to falsely claim that it shows the construction of ‘Joe Biden’s inaugural stage’.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

Several social media users have shared an aerial view of the White House with the claim that it shows the inaugural stage being set up for US President-elect Joe Biden. However, we found that the image is from 1993 and shows the inaugural ceremony of former US President Bill Clinton.

CLAIM

The image is being shared with a text that reads: “If you’re having a bad day, just remember, Trump is watching Biden’s inaugural stage being built on the White House North Lawn. For the next 59 days. (sic)”

You can view the archived version here.(Source: Facebook/ Screenshot)

Several social media users have shared the image on Twitter and Facebook with the same narrative.

You can view the archived version here.(Source: Twitter/ Screenshot)

You can view the archived version here.(Source: Facebook/ Screenshot)

WHAT WE FOUND OUT

We reverse searched the viral image on TinEye and found the same on Alamy with the caption: “Aerial Photography, William J. Clinton Presidential Inauguration, aerial of White House.”

William J Clinton is the byname of Bill Clinton.

(Source: Website/ Screenshot)

We then searched on Google using relevant keywords and found the same image on the website of Smithsonian Institution Archives with the caption: “William J. Clinton Presidential Inauguration, aerial view of White House, 1993”.

We compared the image captured in 1993 with the viral image and found several similarities in terms of positioning of the inaugural stage, vehicles among others.

Left: viral image. Right: 1993 image.(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies (JCCIC) that is responsible for the “planning and execution of the Inaugural Ceremonies of the President-elect and Vice President-elect of the United States” has been sharing pictures of the preparation for 59th inaugural ceremonies.

Evidently, an old image from the inaugural ceremony of Bill Clinton was shared to falsely claim that it shows the construction of Joe Biden’s inaugural stage.

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