A video of Barack Obama saying “ordinary men and women are too small-minded to govern their own affairs” has been shared almost 10,000 times on social media.
But the clip has been edited to leave out crucial context showing Mr Obama was actually describing a view he opposed.
Posts have been shared with captions claiming the video was “deleted from every platform years ago” and prompting users to “make it go viral”. The original footage hasn’t been widely deleted—it is available on the Obama administration’s White House archive, which is preserved as part of the official historical record.
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What he actually said
The footage comes from a speech Mr Obama gave to young Europeans in Brussels on 26 March 2014, during which he discussed the geopolitical climate of the time.
He opened by saying: “We meet here at a moment of testing for Europe and the United States, and for the international order that we have worked for generations to build.”
The clip being shared online begins by showing Mr Obama making this remark about the international order, and then splicing it with a clip from much later on in the speech in which he discusses an older view of power that he rejects.
The manipulated clip edits Mr Obama’s speech to falsely represent his comments about the older view of power as his own worldview. It cuts out a part of the speech in which Mr Obama talked about democratic ideals including individual liberty, free will, and the principle that political power comes from the consent of the governed.
Later, Mr Obama said: “Those ideals have often been threatened by an older, more traditional view of power. This alternative vision argues that ordinary men and women are too small-minded to govern their own affairs, that order and progress can only come when individuals surrender their rights to an all powerful sovereign.”
By removing the opening words “this alternative vision argues”, the clip appears to show Mr Obama was stating his own view, when he was actually describing one he was arguing against.
The edited clip uses footage in which the camera moves from Mr Obama to the audience, which makes the joining of two sections harder to spot. It has been shared repeatedly since 2014 and has been debunked many times.
Speeches can easily be edited to misrepresent a politician’s views. Check whether a clip is authentic or taken out of context before sharing it—our misinformation toolkit can help you do this.
