A viral social media hoax falsely claiming former President Joe Biden died in a Canadian plane crash has been debunked by authorities.
WILMINGTON, Del. — A sensational and entirely unsubstantiated social media claim alleging that former President Joe Biden, former First Lady Jill Biden, and one of their grandchildren were killed in a plane crash near the Canadian border is proliferating online, despite a complete absence of credible evidence.
The viral post, which appeared on multiple platforms including X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook, was meticulously formatted to mimic a high-priority breaking news alert from a major network, specifically invoking the branding of Fox News. The message utilized urgent, alarmist language, stating the alleged catastrophe occurred “a few minutes ago”—a classic psychological tactic employed in digital misinformation campaigns to manipulate users into sharing content emotionally before verifying its authenticity.