Social media users are sharing a screenshot online showing an article by CNN Politics with the headline “Biden administration lowers the age of consent to 8”. This claim is untrue and this image has been digitally altered; CNN does not publish such an article.
Examples can be seen here and here.
The text visible in the article reads: “The government of President Joe Biden has confirmed that the legal age of consent will be reduced from February 16 to 8. During a speech Tuesday afternoon, Biden said, “We have to do this … The age, the children, they have to be about as old.” Biden then made a gesture indicating the historical decline. This change is a great victory for progressives who want to increase the freedom of children everywhere. The forthcoming Minister of Defense has set out their plan to carry out this progress worldwide, thus liberating cruel countries that leave children with age tired before breeding is allowed.
The screenshot was probably taken from a real CNN article visible here. The authors, date and time in the article correspond to the screenshot in the claim. The caption, text and photo have been replaced digitally.
Matt Dornic, head of strategic communications for CNN, told Reuters in an email that CNN did not report such a story. “The image is false and gruesome,” Dornic added. “We reported it to Facebook for removal.”
Other posts contain a fake article preview with the same heading, one preview is visible here .
The age of consent in the US varies between countries and varies between 16 and 18 (here). Here is an overview of the evolution of the age of consent in the US available.
Reuters found no real news reporting on recent changes in the age of consent by Biden’s administration.
The claim has a striking resemblance to narratives presented by the disparaging conspiracy theory QAnon, whose followers often refer to a “secret campaign” waged by Donald Trump against a pedophile sex trade involving prominent Democrats, Hollywood elite and allies of ‘deep state’ (here).
In September 2020, Reuters dismissed similar false allegations that people were trying to lower the legal age of consent to four years old here.
VERDICT
Alter. The screenshot shows a CNN article that was digitally modified by changing the headline, text and photo.
This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our fact-checking work here.