Photo of Biden on plane without face mask is from before the pandemic

An old photo of Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden is spreading on social media, suggesting the former vice president is a hypocrite when it comes to wearing face coverings to protect against the coronavirus. 

While he urges Americans to "be a patriot" and wear a mask, a widely shared tweet makes it look like he doesn’t hold himself to the same standard.

"Washington, DC phony!" reads the tweet from former acting national intelligence director Richard Grenell. "@JoeBiden doesn’t wear a mask on a plane - but wears one OUTSIDE!?"

The tweet features two photos. One shows Biden talking to a woman on a plane, and neither one is wearing a mask. The second shows Biden standing outdoors wearing a mask while speaking into a microphone. 

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.) 

That’s because the photo of Biden without a mask is from November 2019, before the first case of COVID-19 was reported in China the following month. 

Featured Fact-check

Facebook posts

stated on January 22, 2020 in a Facebook post

Says a coronavirus patent expired just as there is a "sudden outbreak" and, despite "media fear-mongering," there is already a vaccine available.

The image ran in a story in Vogue magazine about Remi Yamamoto, Biden’s traveling national press secretary. The caption says: "Yamamoto and Biden huddle on a flight to South Carolina in November 2019."

We rate this tweet False.

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