Joe Biden during a visit to Detroit, Mich., September 9, 2020. -

Patrick Semansky / AP / SIPA

  • On Facebook, a viral photo of Joe Biden, kneeling in front of a masked little boy, claims to show his first symbolic gesture, shortly after his appointment as the 46th President of the United States.

  • "He asks forgiveness on his knees from the son killed by a white policeman," says the caption of this shot.

  • But the little boy is not the son of the African-American who died after his violent arrest by police in Mineappolis (Minnesota) last May.

    And the photo is from last September, long before Joe Biden won the US presidential election.

Even before being officially elected President of the United States by the electoral college, on December 14, Joe Biden would have already made a highly symbolic gesture as the announced successor of Donald Trump in the White House.

“FORGIVENESS… this is the first strong gesture of Joe Biden, new president of the USA… […] After having won the presidential elections, here is the first act taken by Joe Biden.

He asks forgiveness on his knees from the son of George Floyd killed by a white police officer, ”welcomes a Facebook post showing the Democratic candidate kneeling in front of a little boy with whom he seems to be discussing.

Except that the photo in question does not show the son of George Floyd, this African-American man who died shortly after his violent arrest by the police in Mineaoppolis (Minnesota) last spring.

In addition, it was taken long before the presidential election.

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A reverse image search shows that the photo was used to illustrate various articles in the English-speaking press in recent months relating to the US presidential election of November 3.

It was found for example on CNBC in late September or on the BBC in early October.

The photo was actually taken on September 9, 2020 in Detroit, Michigan, as can be seen on the Getty Images site.

"Democratic candidate Joe Biden kneels to chat with CJ Brown while shopping at Three Thirteen, a clothing store on the city's fashion avenue," said the caption of this scene immortalized by photographer Chip Somodevilla .

The Democrat therefore does not kneel as a sign of forgiveness but to place himself at the height of the boy.

Another photo of the meeting, this time showing Joe Biden chatting with the child's father, was taken by Reuters photographer Leah Millis, as can be seen on the news agency's website, which stated for his part a little more the context of this visit: "The Democratic candidate […] Joe Biden talks with Clement Brown, a store manager, during his brief visit to the clothing store" Three Thirteen "in order to do some shopping for his grandchildren ”.

A strategic state for the election, Michigan was narrowly won by Joe Biden against Donald Trump in the presidential election, according to the latest results relayed by the

New York Times

.

Ironically, this summer, another photo showing Joe Biden kneeling in the middle of the street had gone viral in the United States: his opponents claimed that he dropped to one knee after seeing an American flag ... while he was actually chatting, again, with a child.

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