No, Erdogan Did Not Kiss Biden's Hand

Hind Khoudary

Politics

15th June 2021

Picture cropped from video to spread misinformation (Screenshot).

The Claim

A picture depicts Tayyip Erdogan trying to kiss Joe Biden's hand during the NATO Summit in Brussels.

News posted on

Emerging story

Following the 31st annual NATO summit in Brussels, a viral photo of the Turkish President kissing Joe Biden's hand is widely circulating. The image was published on international newspaper frontpages, Twitter, and Facebook in different languages, including Arabic, English, and Turkish.

A supporting image within the article body

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan greets President Biden at NATO summit in Brussels.

(AP Photo/Olivier Matthys, Pool) pic.twitter.com/Y0VUbDyHkW
— The Recount (@therecount) June 14, 2021

Awkward moment Biden tries to make peace and fist bumps Turkey's Erdogan at NATO summit https://t.co/lcRcuVnO2R
— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) June 14, 2021

Misbar’s Analysis

MENA: Misbar's team found a video that shows the consequence of the photo circulating. It reveals that the US President walked to the seat of the Turkish President Erdogan and greeted him at the NATO Summit in Brussels.

📹 | Watch #US President #Biden walk to the seat of #Turkish President #Erdogan and greet him at the #NATOSummit in #Brussels. pic.twitter.com/Vrvks6v00j
— EHA News (@eha_news) June 14, 2021

Some cropped the original video to show that Erdogan was kissing Joe Biden's hand. Turkish journalists condemned international news agencies for using such photos believing they were biased. However, Turkey's local media agencies affirmed that media news sites and social media users tried to create an offensive perception as if Erdogan kissed Biden's hand over a cropped photo frame.