Social media users shared a photo online showing President Joe Biden, first lady Jill Biden, and Hillary and Bill Clinton in the vicinity without face masks, claiming it was a recent photo after Biden’s inauguration on January 20, 2021. This claim is false: the photo was taken in 2016.
Examples can be seen here, here, here, here and here.
One report here reads: “Everyone in masks for the cameras – no one in masks for the private celebrations. All you need to know. ”
Clinton’s campaign logo can be seen next to Bill Clinton in the photo, which is an indication that the event is related to the Hillary for America campaign and not an inauguration event.
The photo was originally posted here on Flickr by Hillary Clinton’s campaign Hillary for America. The photo is dated July 27, 2016 and shows the politicians at the Democratic National Convention in 2016.
It was also posted on a Reddit thread here in 2016 and in an article from The Week here.
The photo was again posted by Clinton on social media here and here on January 20, 2021 to congratulate Biden’s inauguration. This may have caused confusion among users who thought the photo was taken on the day of the inauguration without face masks.
The physical aspect and clothes that the two couples wore during Biden’s inauguration in 2021 also do not match those in this photo (here, here, here).
VERDICT
Untrue. The photo of Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden was taken in 2016, not in 2021.
This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our fact-checking work here.