+9 votes
in General Factchecking by Master (5.0k points)
According to WhaleWire, this was confirmed by the White House.

6 Answers

+8 votes
by Apprentice (1.6k points)
selected by
 
Best answer

The originally asked question cannot be answered since White House did not record or did not release information pertaining to cognitive test for every president. What we do know is that President Biden has not taken the cognitive test (White House Press Briefing). 

The linked tweet is from Clown World Today. On their account, they repost screenshots of other news sites, news tweets, and memes. Their website only has a email subscription feature. In their description, they claim to be a newsletter for conspiracy theorists and promotes freedom. There is no other information about this "news" account. 

WhaleWire, the account in Clown World Today's screenshot, has both a X account and a website. WhaleWire claims to be an unbiased newsletter. Unfortunately, at this time their about page is unavailable so I was unable to find more information such as their goals, how they function as a newsletter, and who their team of experts are/their credentials. 

No available information
by Novice (830 points)
+1
I agree that this claim cannot be answered. I think the claim could be rephrased into a more answerable question, however, it would be incredible hard to prove that he is the first.
by Journeyman (2.0k points)
Another great fact-check. I am glad you clarified that we do not know if every President has taken the cognitive test or not. However, I do believe you should do more research on Clown World News Today. It is very clearly a bot account and agent attempting to spread political disinformation on social media.
by Apprentice (1.6k points)
+1
I think you provide a thorough and strong fact check by applying a historical lense of application and resources to back up your stance. The clarification on the unavailability of cognitive test records for all presidents is informative, because it reveals how this claim may be misleading or exaggerated. The writer may have partial truth in their claim, yet the way it is framed should be criticized. You effectively investigate the credibility of Clown World Today and WhaleWire, highlighting the lack of detailed information about Clown World Today and the unavailability of information on WhaleWire's about page. To improve your evaluation, consider exploring other reputable sources that discuss the White House's stance on cognitive tests or alternative perspectives on President Biden's cognitive health. This would enhance the depth and balance of your analysis.
by Apprentice (1.7k points)
I agree that this claim can not be answered. There is not enough public information. You did a good job at giving background information on the source of the original tweet "Clown World" and the type of content they post.
by Novice (770 points)
I agree that this fact check does not have information to be answered. However, they did a great job of showing the background information.
by Newbie (480 points)
I like how you imbedded links within your fact check. It was easy to follow and very clear. This is a great example of a claim that doesn't include enough information.
+5 votes
by Journeyman (2.2k points)

Crazy, but according to medical records shared by the White House, this is true. However, this is very misleading because there is no data or records of every U.S. president taking a cognitive test during each of their respective presidential tenures.

The website for the White House that documents all daily press briefings from Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and confirms the truth of the President's mental capabilities. She recently spoke with Biden's physician, Kevin O'Connor, about Biden's cognitive capabilities, and he said that "because of the President’s actions every day, what he deals with with world leaders, the domestic issues that — that he has to — he has to deal with, he believes that that shows [his cognitive capabilities]." The White House confirmed that he hasn't taken or needs to take a cognitive test because he proves it in his day-to-day interactions.

So yes, Joe Biden hasn't and won't take the cognitive portion of his physical exam, but he is not the only president to never take this test - there is no proof or record tracking that.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/bidens-upcoming-physical-exam-will-not-include-cognitive-test-white-house-says

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/press-briefings/2024/02/09/press-briefing-by-press-secretary-karine-jean-pierre-and-spokesman-for-the-white-house-counsels-office-ian-sams-february-9-2024/

by Novice (870 points)
Hello! Nice factcheck. I appreciate the context you provided along with the answer. I agree the the claim is misleading, and your answer helps understand why that is so! Good job!
by Apprentice (1.7k points)
Great Fact Check, I didn't even know that there was a requirement for the cognitive test, and I love that you brought up that there is no record to which any president did a cognitive test, it breathes life into this likely being somewhat of a politically motivated claim.
by Novice (830 points)
This was very well worded! I enjoyed the clarity of your writing along with all the information. Your sources seem very credible.
by Novice (790 points)
This is a great fact check. I appreciate you including multiple sources, that just shows us that this is more reliable and has more truth to it. These are good sources as well. I like the inclusion of context and background because me personally I was unaware that this was a thing and had never heard of it. I was glad to be informed before getting into the fact check itself.
by Apprentice (1.1k points)
+1
This is one of if not the best fact check I have ever seen. You were able to find that even as absurd as it sounds it could potentially be true. Biden indeed not take the cognitive but there aren't records for every US president which is what you said. Along with that you found that the White House even confirmed that he never took the test. Great fact check.
by Journeyman (2.0k points)
Excellent fact-checl. I'm happy you used the primary source of the official White House presidential records to verify whether or not Biden actually hasn't taken a mental performance examination.
by Novice (510 points)
Good fact-check! I did the same searching and had a hard time finding any records showing cognitive testing for presidents other than Trump or Biden, too, showing the misleading component of this claim. Well done!
by Apprentice (1.6k points)
You have great sources to prove your point, and I agree that the claim is very misleading. I would say, however, that your reasoning proves the claim to be false. If there are no records to verify that every other president has taken the cognitive exam, there is no foundation for the claim that Biden is the first not to do so.
by Genius (41.0k points)
How would you ultimately rate the claim? True? Don't forget to select a rating for every fact-check. Thanks!
0 votes
by Novice (830 points)

On Monday, February 12, Karine Jean-Pierre, a White House representative, stated that Biden would not be taking the cognitive testing portion of his physical exam. However, the claim that Biden is the first US president to not undergo this exam cannot be proven. There isn’t any evidence to support that he is the first because there aren’t records of every presidents cognitive exams.

https://news.yahoo.com/bidens-upcoming-physical-exam-not-194607840.html

No available information
by Apprentice (1.3k points)
+1
I think your fact check is accurate and to the point regarding Biden's cognitive test. But you are missing the portion of actually fact-checking this source. It clearly states in the bio for the "Clown World News Today" account that they are a "A Newsletter for the "conspiracy theorists" and others labeled "dangerous" for speaking the truth and promoting freedom." Which is a completely unreliable source and that is worth mentioning. I also think additional research should be done.
+3 votes
by Novice (900 points)

This claim utilizes a true statement to feed readers a lie. It was confirmed by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre here in a press briefing that president Biden will not be administered a cognitive test as a part of his yearly physical. The second half of the claim, that President Biden is the first president to not take such a test during a yearly physical exam, is false. As far as I can find that information does not exist, at least not in any official capacity released by a government entity. 

I think this claim was made intentionally and with bad intentions. I think its not an accident that the true part of the claim is referring to The President's age and mental sharpness, from my understanding this a political issue which concerns voters across the political spectrum in the United States. Here is a ABC news / Washington Post poll from September which shows that. I think this claim was chosen because it has broad appeal, and gets reader's foot in the door so to speak. Many people already doubt Biden's ability due to his age, and the white house confirmed he will not be administered a cognitive test, so the lie about Biden being the only president to not take one is easy to accept without a second thought. 

When you look into the two twitter accounts associated its seems clear that this claim is satirical at best, but likely intentionally misleading. The first account, WhaleWire, posts mostly about crypto finance, which is frankly a known grift at this point. There is also a website and mailing list by the same name which covers much of the same information and occasionally makes political claims like the one above. All of the written stories on this website are either not credited to an author, or credited to a "Mr.Whale" which is hyperlinked right back to the WhaleWire twitter account. To me, this suggests that the website is likely heavily AI generated, and it would not surprise me if the twitter posts are too. 

The second account has a little more to it. It is also a Twitter account linked to a website and mailing list by the same name, this time Clown World Today. The website's about page describes itself as: "A newsletter for the 'conspiracy theorists' and others labeled 'dangerous' for speaking the truth and promoting freedom." So it seems pretty clear to me that this account is not concerned with truth so much as signal boosting claims which support it's already held worldview. The primary author for the website is a person identified as Ben Kaufmen, who's personal twitter account is linked on the Clown World Today website. His personal account is much of the same conspiratorial posts, but Kaufmen also posts a lot about crypto, which I think links him back to the WhaleWire account. 

Ultimately, I think it is likely that both the Clown World Today and WhaleWire accounts and websites are run by the same person, maybe Ben Kaufmen. The content is similar in nature, and obfuscating the origin of claims like this is a tactic used by individuals and organizations to easier spread disinformation. So Biden is not being tested for mental acuity, but it is inaccurate to say he will be the first to do so. While the full intentions of the person behind the claim are unclear, the pattern of obfuscation and use of  deliberate rhetorical tactics points to this claim being intentional disinformation from a bad faith actor.

Exaggerated/ Misleading
+2 votes
by Novice (640 points)

While it is true that Joe Biden has not taken a cognitive test as part of his physical exam, there is no record of every other president taking the exam, which implies that he is not the first. The White House has confirmed he has not taken and will not take the cognitive exam, as he believes his cognitive abilities are shown in his day-to-day activities as President.

Exaggerated/ Misleading
by Novice (680 points)
–1
I would also add to this fact-check some research into who posted the claim on Twitter. It looks like it's a satire account, hence the name "Clown World Today."
+1 vote
by Novice (920 points)
There is not enough information to prove that this claim is completely true. Firstly, according to Fox News and the Pittsburgh Post, President Joe Biden will not be taking a cognitive test as part of his upcoming physical. Past presidents have taken cognitive tests before, like Donald Trump and Barrack Obama. However, there is not enough information to confirm that every other US president in history was required to take a cognitive test. These tests tend to be an area of public interest in recent years, as seen in the Donald Trump presidency. Despite this, there is little to no mention of them prior to recent presidencies.

Furthermore, WhaleWire, the source account of the claim, is a self-proclaimed Cypto News account. With 19,000 Instagram followers and little official backing, I do not believe this is a trustworthy source.

https://news.yahoo.com/bidens-upcoming-physical-exam-not-194607840.html?guccounter=1

https://www.post-gazette.com/news/politics-nation/2024/02/13/biden-cognitive-test-physical-exam/stories/202402130082

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/house-republicans-push-biden-take-cognitive-test-hur-report-obvious-mental-decline

https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2020/oct/01/brit-hume/geriatrics-experts-say-brit-humes-claim-joe-biden-/

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/mental-health/trump-cognitive-test-what-montreal-cognitive-assessment-exam-n1234762
No available information

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