Joe Biden has been seen with a large bruise on his forehead during a trip to Poland.
The ‘bruise’ is actually an ash cross, given during Ash Wednesday Mass. As a practising Catholic, the US President received a private mass while in Warsaw.
A number of posts on social media claim that US President Joe Biden has been seen with a large bruise on his forehead, prompting some claims that he is unfit to lead the country.
One Facebook user wrote: “Look at the bruise on Joe Biden's head. That wasn't there earlier. I bet you he fell in Poland. His doctor is lying about his health and should have his medical license [sic] revoked if he thinks Biden is ok. We are in such danger with Biden.”
But the mark on Mr Biden’s forehead isn’t a bruise. As a practising Catholic, the president marked Ash Wednesday (on 22 February this year) with a private Mass in his hotel room in Warsaw during his trip to Poland.
In the modern Roman Catholic Church, the ashes from the palms used in the previous years’ Palm Sunday service are applied in the shape of a cross to the foreheads of worshippers during Mass on Ash Wednesday.
Mr Biden has been photographed with the cross on Ash Wednesday a number of times in previous years, including last year and as Vice-President in 2009 and 2010. Sky News presenter Kay Burley apologised in 2010 for also confusing the mark on Mr Biden’s forehead for a bruise.
This is not the first time we’ve written about Mr Biden during his recent trip to Poland. On Wednesday we fact checked a video that falsely claimed to show the US president falling down the stairs of Air Force One after arriving in the country.
False or misleading claims about politicians have the potential to affect people’s opinions of individuals, parties or how they choose to vote. We often see these types of claims spread widely online.
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Image courtesy of The White House |
This article is part of our work fact checking potentially false pictures, videos and stories on Facebook. You can read more about this—and find out how to report Facebook content—here. For the purposes of that scheme, we’ve rated this claim as false because the mark on Joe Biden’s forehead is actually an ash cross given during Ash Wednesday Mass.
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