"Captain obvious": Reuters trolled over fact checking Joe Biden ice cream truck meme

Reuters received immense flak on social media after posting a fact-check article in regards to a spoof video of Joe Biden. A clearly edited video of the President getting distracted by the sound of an ice cream truck while his wife Jill was in the middle of a speech was posted online. Netizens could not believe that the humorous video needed to be fact-checked.

The Reuters article, which sought to "debunk" the fake video, described how Joe Biden appeared to be distracted by an ice cream truck song while First Lady Jill Biden was giving a speech at a middle school in Washington, DC.

The publication wrote:

“The video being shared, however, has been digitally edited to include music usually played by an ice cream truck.”

Internet users couldn't believe Reuters felt compelled to publish a fact-check article about a video that was clearly a joke. Many took to social media to express their genuine thoughts. @JeffBlakley2 on Twitter had the following to say:

"@ReutersFacts Thanks, captain obvious. But, wandering off for no reason in the middle of the speech isn't exactly the winning argument you think it is."

The video being discussed was originally posted on September 10, 2021, by C-SPAN. It was captioned:

“President Biden and first lady Jill Biden spoke at Washington, D.C.'s Brookland Middle School about the coronavirus pandemic and keeping children safe. The president urged parents to get their children vaccinated if they were eligible.”

At the 0.33 mark in the video, the 79-year-old President could be seen walking out of the camera’s frame and returning shortly after. No ice cream truck was seen nor was a jingle heard in the original video.

Reuters went on to add:

“Altered. This video has been digitally edited to include ice cream truck music as U.S. President Joe Biden walked away momentarily during first lady Jill Biden’s speech.”

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Netizens mock Reuters for publishing fact check article about Joe Biden spoof video

As netizens continued to slam the global news agency, some found it concerning how Reuters found it necessary to debunk the video. Many stated that the way the publication thinks about internet users needing the video to be fact checked is unsettling.

Some users went on to defend the news outlet by stating that Reuters must have written the article in a satirical manner.

However, it remains unclear why the reputed publication decided to write an article about the light-hearted, mock-video.

A few tweets where netizens slammed Reuters read:

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Joe Biden’s love for ice cream explored

The President of the United States is known for being an ice cream fanatic. His love for chocolate soft serve is known among many of his keen followers. Memes about Biden’s love for ice cream began when he famously said:

“I don’t drink, I don’t smoke, but I eat a lot of ice cream.”

Since then, the internet has created a slew of memes of Biden eating ice cream.

Earlier this year, the President was criticized for having a sweet tooth. Republicans relentlessly slammed him after a picture of him eating an ice cream cone went viral in April. They expressed concern over how the President would respond to the Russia-Ukraine crisis as he continues to consume the dessert. One Twitter user wrote:

“Is it appropriate at this time? Vladimir Putin watching this Commander in Chief chomping on ice cream.”

Nevertheless, internet users tried to criticize the President for his fondness for ice cream. What the President eating ice cream has to do with the Ukrainian crisis is still a mystery.