President Joe Biden delivered a prime-time speech in Philadelphia on Sept. 1 in which he said former President Donald Trump and his supporters "are determined to take this country backwards."
Two uniformed Marines standing at attention were visible in the background of the speech, which sparked debate about the politicization of the military.
A Facebook video shared Sept. 3 claims the Marines are actually crisis actors hired by Biden. "Biden Hires Crisis Actors to Portray U.S. Marines," reads the video's caption.
"Crisis actor" is a term commonly used by conspiracy theorists when falsely accusing people of being paid actors in times of tragedy and disaster.
The Facebook post generated over 40,000 views and 1,200 interactions in less than a week. The Real Raw News story was shared in Facebook groups with hundreds of members.
The video cites a Sept. 3 article from Real Raw News, which bases its claim on information purportedly received from an unnamed source in Marine Corp Gen. David Berger’s office.
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But the claim is baseless. The figures standing behind Biden were not paid actors, but rather real Marines, according to a White House official. The original source of the claim, Real Raw News, is a website that publishes fabricated stories, many of which USA TODAY has debunked.
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