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| - On April 29, 2024, Simon Ateba — a Cameroonian journalist who is listed as the chief White House correspondent for Today News Africa — reshared on X (formerly Twitter) a video showing U.S. President Joe Biden in a Sheetz convenience store in Pittsburgh on April 17. According to the post and video, several people made negative remarks toward Biden, including multiple uses of a particular expletive. The post read, "SEE IT: Woman to Joe Biden, 'F*** you,' and 'Thanks for nothing.' WATCH."
Ateba previously made news in August 2023 after what Fox News called a series of "blowups" inside the White House briefing room, as well as a controversy regarding the renewal of his "hard pass" to access the White House grounds. He also reportedly sued White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and the Secret Service regarding the same issue of his credentials.
President Joe Biden greets employees at a Sheetz gas station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on April 17, 2024. (Photo by Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Agence France-Presse via Getty Images)
As for the video, Ateba's post reshared a previously uploaded clip from another user, @Pedro88473426.
The clip's audio had been manipulated. The original, unmanipulated video simply featured what sounded like an off-screen reporter asking Biden a question. No one can be heard saying "Thanks for nothing" or shouting expletives at Biden inside the convenience store in the original video.
The audio with people saying "Thanks for nothing" and cursing Biden was taken a completely different video that featured Biden's motorcade driving past bystanders during his visit to Hawaii following the Maui wildfires in August 2023:
Snopes contacted Ateba by email to ask whether he planned on posting a correction after resharing the manipulated video, seeing as BBC Verify journalist Shayan Sardarizadeh had already replied to alert him and others about the misinformation. We also asked the other user, @Pedro88473426, about the origin of the manipulated video. This story will be updated if we receive a response.
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