A photo of President Joe Biden leaving for Europe that the White House tweeted wasn’t actually taken on March 23.
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No, these trees don’t prove White House tweeted an old photo of Joe Biden
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- People are sharing an image of Joe Biden leaving for Europe on March 23 and claiming that the leafy trees behind him prove that this is an old photo, since other trees in Washington are bare. But those trees are southern magnolias, and they have leaves year round.
On the morning of March 23, President Joe Biden’s verified Twitter account tweeted an image of him saluting as he boarded a helicopter on the South Lawn of the White House, which looms behind him, flanked by green bushy trees and a scrum of reporters photographing him.
"I’m on my way to Europe to rally the international community in support of Ukraine and ensure Putin pays a severe economic cost for his war of choice," Biden tweeted from @POTUS.
But some social media users have alleged that the photo is old, pointing to the trees as evidence.
"This picture, tweeted by the White House yesterday, was clearly not taken yesterday," one image being shared on Instagram says. An account sharing the image claimed that "Biden tweeted a stock photo yesterday with trees covered in leaves taken in the middle of summer."
This post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)
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The evidence for this claim, according to other social media posts, is that other trees at the White House don’t have leaves on their branches.
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Biden was boarding the helicopter on the south side, where southern magnolia trees abut the White House. According to Yale University, the tree is relatively hardy, growing in cold climates like Washington, and "because it can maintain its beautiful leaves year round, it is often planted as an ornamental flowering tree."
Photos of Biden before he left for Europe that day that were taken by news organizations including Getty and Reuters show the trees full of leaves. In this video shared by USA Today, both those trees and bare trees behind the helicopter can be seen.
We rate this post False.
Our Sources
Instagram post, March 23, 2022
Joe Biden tweet, March 23, 2022
Tweet, March 23, 2022
EarthTV, WEBCAM WASHINGTON D.C. WHITE HOUSE LIVE STREAM, visited March 25, 2022
Getty Images, President Biden Departs White House For NATO Meeting In Brussels, March 23, 2022
Yale University, Southern Magnolia, visited March 25, 2022
CBS News, Part of Jackson Magnolia on South Lawn coming down, White House says, Dec. 27, 2017
CNN, Exclusive: Iconic White House tree to be cut down, Dec. 27, 2017
YouTube, Biden warns chemical warfare in Ukraine is a 'real threat' | USA TODAY, March 23, 2022
Reuters photo, March 23, 2022
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No, these trees don’t prove White House tweeted an old photo of Joe Biden
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