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| - FACT CHECK: Was Joe Biden’s Twitter Handle Designated As A Business Account?
A post shared on Twitter purports the platform’s CEO, Elon Musk, recently designated President Joe Biden’s personal Twitter handle, @JoeBiden, as a business account with a community flag.
SAVAGE: @elonmusk designates @JoeBiden as business account with a community flag. pic.twitter.com/LhR3gzdBbC
— Carpe Donktum🔹 (@CarpeDonktum) April 20, 2023
Verdict: False
There is no evidence supporting the claim. The claim was posted by @CarpeDonktum, a well-known meme creator.
Fact Check:
Musk paid for actor William Shatner, author Stephen King, and athlete LeBron James’ Twitter verification, according to Quartz. King recently got into a back-and-forth with Musk over having to pay to keep his blue check mark and the war in Ukraine, Fox News reported.
“SAVAGE: @elonmusk designates @JoeBiden as business account with a community flag,” the Twitter post, viewed over 600,000 times, purports. The post includes a purported photo of Biden’s personal Twitter handle with a label indicating he is the “10% owner of BidenFamily Inc, lobbying group.”
The claim is false. There are no credible news reports indicating Musk designated Biden’s personal Twitter handle as a business account with a community flag. Likewise, the White House has neither addressed the purported claim via its website nor a statement posted to its verified social media accounts. In addition, Musk has not publicly commented on the claim. Biden’s personal Twitter shows a government designation at the time of publication.
The claim was posted to Twitter on Apr. 20 by @CarpeDonktum. The social media user describes himself as an “eternally sarcastic memesmith,” according to his account’s bio. The social media user, who has frequently made memes in support of former President Donald Trump, was previously banned by the social media platform in 2020 over repeated copyright infringement violations, according to Variety.
The claim regarding Biden’s personal Twitter circulated just as Twitter began removing blue check marks from legacy verified accounts, The Verge reported. Users who want to verify their accounts must now subscribe to Twitter Blue and pay $8 a month, the outlet indicated.
Although the White House did not address the claim regarding Biden’s account, it previously shared it wouldn’t pay to have its staffers’ profiles continue to be verified, according to Axios. (RELATED: Did Germany Fine Twitter $30 Billion?)
Check Your Fact has contacted Twitter Communications and the White House Press Office for comment and will update this piece accordingly if one is received.
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