PolitiFact acts like its role is not to check facts, but to suppress embarrassing videos of Biden and Harris. Last month, they cried False about an embarrassing Harris performance at a press conference in Europe. Now, they're ruling it's False to say Biden “turned around and shook hands with thin air” after a speech in North Carolina on April 14.
He wasn't trying to shake hands with a non-existent person, he was gesturing at the audience! Doesn't everyone point with all five fingers?
As a result, "Facebook flagged the post and others like it on its platform in an effort to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed." Facebook posts on the "handshake" and Biden "looking confused" now carry the warning:
Missing context
Independent fact-checkers say this information could mislead people.
What's false is the "independent fact-checkers" part.
PolitiFact's Gabrielle Settles claimed "Biden was gesturing towards his audience, not shaking hands with 'thin air.'" Her tweet was RT'd by the main Twitter account:
After @POTUS' April 14 speech at @ncatsuaggies, social media users spread the rumor that he "tried to shake hands with thin air," then "wandered around looking confused." Different angles show that claim is false— he was actually gesturing at the audience. https://t.co/COtphJVEus pic.twitter.com/MRm6On7vjE
— Gabrielle Settles (@GPSettles) April 19, 2022
Why is the mind-reading involved here -- "I'm pointing, guys! Come on, man!" -- a "fact check"? Settles argued the International Business Times also "found holes" with the comedy, and concluded "The clips of Biden gesturing to those seated in the audience are being misconstrued to appear as if he was trying to shake hands with air. We rate this claim False."
Once again, PolitiFact wasn't actually fact-checking anything that came out of Biden's mouth. If they watched the comedy on Fox's Gutfeld! they would quickly catch a clip of Biden falsely claiming "For four years, I was a full professor at the University of Pennsylvania."
In fact, Snopes.com evaluated this Biden statement, but somehow ruled it was a "Mixture." Biden was paid over $910,000 by the university from 2017 to 2021 but did not teach classes. He made "around a dozen public appearances." He was given the title -- no joke -- “Benjamin Franklin Presidential Practice Professor.”
Almost a million dollars for "around a dozen appearances?" Gutfeld joked "Hunter definitely learned from the best."
