Stand up for the facts!

Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy.
We need your help.

More Info

I would like to contribute

Ciara O'Rourke
By Ciara O'Rourke January 21, 2022

Website bug mistakenly put Trump’s name on Biden’s schedule

If Your Time is short

  • A bug on the website Factba.se, which publishes President Joe Biden’s schedule and previously published former President Donald Trump’s schedule, made it look like Trump was recently participating in White House activities. He wasn’t — that was Biden. 
 

An image shared on social media appears to show former President Donald Trump’s schedule filled with events at the White House, presidential briefings, and meetings with advisers — a year after leaving office. 

On Jan. 20, 2022, for example, it looks like he was scheduled to receive the president’s daily brief at 9:30 a.m. 

The image is authentic, but it’s a glitch on a website that’s not associated with the government. What’s actually shown is President Joe Biden’s schedule, not Trump’s. 

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.)

The schedule with Trump’s name appeared on Factba.se, a website that collects and publishes Biden’s interviews, speeches, tweets, schedules and more

When Trump was president, Factba.se did the same for him. His calendar is archived on the site but, as of noon on Jan. 20, 2021, Factba.se stopped tracking Trump, said Bill Frischling, Factba.se’s founder. 

RELATED VIDEO
 

The page that shows a mashup of Biden’s current schedule with Trump’s name is a bug, Frischling said. It’s not linked on the Factba.se site but it was still accessible via a Google search when PolitiFact asked him about the Facebook post. 

Frischling said, "We’ve run into confusion in the past where folks think Factba.se IS the White House’s official website," he said. 

It’s not. And this isn’t Trump’s schedule — it’s Biden’s. 

We rate claims that it is Trump’s schedule False.

Our Sources

Facebook post, Jan. 21, 2022

Factba.se site, visited Jan. 21, 2022

Email interview with Bill Frischling, Factba.se founder, Jan. 21, 2022

 

Browse the Truth-O-Meter

More by Ciara O'Rourke

Website bug mistakenly put Trump’s name on Biden’s schedule

Support independent fact-checking.
Become a member!

In a world of wild talk and fake news, help us stand up for the facts.

Sign me up