US Election 2020: Biden's state mixup manipulated video hit 1million shares before removal

With the US Presidential Election right around the corner, a manipulated video of Democratic nominee Joe Biden went viral on the weekend. The video showed Biden naming the state wrong during a rally. As per The Guardian report, the manipulated video was removed from Twitter after it was viewed over 1.1 million times on the microblogging site.

The manipulated video showed Biden saying "Hello, Minnesota" to a crowd in Florida. However, it was later found that Biden was indeed in Minnesota and the video had been modified to change the text on a sign and the podium to refer to Tampa, Florida, instead.

The Democratic candidate was shown to have confused the state for Minnesota as he went on to a stage while signs stating 'Tampa, Florida' and 'Text FL to 30330' could be prominently seen in the backdrop. According to Associated Press, the footage was clipped from a campaign stop last Friday in St. Paul, Minnesota and the signs in the video were fake.

READ | Video altered to make it look like Biden greeted wrong state

"The sign behind Biden in this video has been edited to add the words 'Tampa, Florida' and remove the words 'TEXT MN to 30330.' The podium has also been edited to add 'FL' instead of 'MN.' Original video from this event confirms that Biden was in Minnesota and addressed the correct state in his greeting", noted the Associated Press.

On Sunday, Twitter flagged the video, which was posted on a nondescript personal account, as 'manipulated media'. Shortly afterward, the video was removed from the site but by then it had reached 1.1 million views. While there is no suggestion the video came from the Trump campaign, Biden’s perceived lack of mental acuity has been a preferred tactic for the US president and his representatives.

READ | Trump denies report that he would declare poll victory early, indicates gearing up for legal battle

Biden Leads Trump By 10 Percentage Points In New Pre-election Survey

Just a day to go for the US presidential election, Joe Biden was seen leading President Donald Trump by 10 percentage points as per the NBC News poll. The survey showed that Biden’s support stands at 52 percent to Trump’s 42 percent among national registered voters. 

The new poll released on November 1 found that the Democratic nominee was ahead of Trump by six points, 51 percent to 45 percent, in 12 combined battleground states of Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. 

The survey, which was conducted from October 29 to 31, released as both Biden and Trump made a last-ditch effort to secure ballots in battleground states. The Democratic presidential nominee has consistently had the upper hand over his Republican rival across the US electoral map.

READ | US Election 2020: Biden leads Trump by 10 percentage points in new pre-election survey

READ | US Election 2020: Biden leads Trump in four key swing states, poll shows

(With inputs from Agency) (Image -AP)