“President Biden put a Medal of Honor on veteran Dwight Birdwell backwards.”
Verdict
❌FalseConfidence
Solid evidence with some gaps or secondary sources.
What We Found
The claim that President Biden placed the Medal of Honor on veteran Dwight Birdwell backwards is false. The viral video circulating on social media was a low-quality, grainy clip that created a visual illusion. High-definition footage of the July 5, 2022, ceremony confirms the medal was placed correctly.
Evidence
On July 5, 2022, President Joe Biden awarded the Medal of Honor to four Vietnam War veterans, including Specialist Five Dwight W. Birdwell. Shortly after the ceremony, a low-resolution, grainy video clip began circulating on social media platforms, particularly Twitter, with claims that President Biden had placed the medal around Birdwell's neck backwards. Multiple independent fact-checking organizations and news outlets, including CNN, the Associated Press, and Media Matters, reviewed the high-definition footage of the event. These reviews confirmed that the medal was placed correctly around Birdwell's neck. The appearance of it being 'backwards' was a result of the poor quality and graininess of the viral video, which obscured the details of the medal's orientation. There is no evidence to support the claim that the medal was placed incorrectly.
What's Missing or Misleading
The viral video was intentionally or unintentionally misleading due to its low resolution, which failed to capture the actual orientation of the medal as seen in official, high-definition recordings of the event.
Sources Reviewed (3)
Manipulated video of Biden awarding Medal of Honor gets millions of views on social media
Fact check: Anti-Biden commentators spread false claim that he affixed a Medal of Honor 'backwards'
Specialist Five Dwight W. Birdwell | Medal of Honor Recipient | U.S. Army
Primary Sources
This fact-check was generated by automated AI research. It has not been examined by a human reviewer.