Russian information resources drew attention to a strange spot on the forehead of the American president. We checked whether this was indeed an impact mark.

As the media reported on February 22, the bruise on the forehead of US President Joe Biden, recorded by cameras either during his visit to Poland or immediately upon his return, interested many social network users. Some publications linked the appearance of the bruise with the fall of the American leader during the climb to the plane in Warsaw, and in a number of Telegram channels cited personnel, in which a man resembling Biden falls while walking down a ramp.

Among the Russian-language publications that drew attention to Biden’s bruise are “Evening Moscow", "Sight", TVC And "Vesti.Ru" These rumors were actively spread on social networks. In particular, the channels “Evil proof"(145,000 views at the time of writing this analysis), "Pool N3"(137,000), "Dear persimmon" (74,000) and "Teledno"(34,000), and in TikTok some videos depicting a spot on the forehead of the American president received half a million views.

On February 20, US President Joe Biden made an unannounced visit to Kyiv, where he met with President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky. During the talks, Biden announced a new aid package worth half a billion dollars. That evening started already planned two-day trip of the first person of the United States to Warsaw, which included participation in summit heads of state of NATO's Bucharest Nine.

These days, two videos of falls on the ramp of American Air Force One have been widely circulated on the Internet. On first, shown, judging by the credits, on one of the Polish television channels, one of the members of the arriving American delegation, having tripped while going down the steps, ends up on the ground. Social network users assumedthat it was President Joe Biden himself, for whom such incidents at all Not rarity. However, in the video from Sky News it is clear that this time the American president covered the distance without any problems. In addition, a large bag can be seen behind the shoulders of the person who fell from the steps, which is not typical for heads of state in such a situation. Later, a White House spokesman confirmed fact-checking resource Snopes that the “hero” of the incident was not Joe Biden.

Another incident occurred before the presidential plane took off from Poland on the evening of February 22. A man resembling Biden fell and immediately got up while climbing the ramp. As can be seen in the video, filmed from a different angle, it was indeed the American president. This information was provided to the same fact checkers from Snopes confirmed by the White House.

Photos of Biden with a spot similar to a bruise appeared in the photo banks of the world's largest agencies (AFP, Associated Press, Reuters, EPA, Getty Images) on the same day, February 22, and were made during summit in Warsaw. Thus, this stain cannot be related to Biden's fall before his departure from Poland.

The solution appeared in the media almost immediately, although not all resources paid attention to it. The fact is that Joe Biden is second Catholic president in US history (the first was John Kennedy) and sacredly honors religious rites. February 22 was celebrated in the Catholic world Ash Wednesday - the day of the beginning of Lent. On this occasion, Polish priest Wieslaw Davidowski held a festive mass at the Marriott hotel, where Biden was staying, on the morning of February 22. Later, Davidovsky shared what he had done then photographs on social networks, writing that he had the honor of sprinkling ashes on the head of the US President himself (he mentioned on Twitter that he “joined the celebration of Ash Wednesday,” but did not provide details). In the photo we see that the ashes on Biden's forehead form a Catholic cross. In an article on the site The National Geographic it is noted that such a cross symbolizes the mortality of its bearer and repentance for one’s own sins. Priests apply it during the morning service on Ash Wednesday, and many believers choose to leave the mark on themselves for the rest of the day. Apparently, Joe Biden prefers to act the same way. After the mass, as we see in photographs from the summit, only a small mark remained from the ashen cross in the center of the forehead of the American president.

Let us note that this is not the first time that Joe Biden has been caught on camera with a ritual spot on his forehead on Ash Wednesday. IN 2009 And 2010 years, he did this with the rank of Vice President of the United States (Sky News TV presenter Kay Burley even had to apologize for mentioning his “bruise”), and in 2022 - already being the head of state. The president’s colleague in the Democratic Party, former US Secretary of State, also honors the Catholic tradition John Kerry. But in 2015, Biden really appeared in public with a bruise on his face - according to the official explanation, the bruise occurred after the politician played with his dog named Champ.

Cover photo: Media.