Fact Check: Was Joe Biden 'Wearing a Wire' During the Debate?

Tuesday's U.S. presidential debate was one to remember. Both candidates — U.S. President Donald J. Trump and former Vice-President Joe Biden — took turns knocking each other in the 90-minute event.

In numerous videos posted to social media, users pointed out that it appeared as though Biden was "wearing a wire." Although the claims are unsubstantiated, it appears as though some users believe this as fact, even after a rebuttal from Biden's campaign team.

This comes days after Trump erroneously claimed that Biden would be wearing a wire or an earpiece during the debate. Biden's deputy campaign manager Kate Bedingfield decried the claims, saying, "Of course he is not wearing an earpiece."

In one video that was shared thousands of times on Facebook alone, a grainy recording shows Biden putting his hand underneath his suit jacket, leading the camera to zoom-in and show Biden's shirt. "There it is, there it is. Biden's wearing a wire," the male user who posted the video, says. "Why do you need a wire, bro?"

In one of the higher quality videos, the so-called "wire" is actually just a crease in Biden's shirt. That did not stop many from taking to social media to spread the claim, with one video racking up more than 15,000 views and the hashtag #JoeWired spreading on Twitter.

Additional posts spread the same falsehood.

"Was Biden wearing a wire?" read one meme posted to Facebook, having been shared over 7,500 times. That post, coupled with the others, suggested the small object beneath the shirt cuff on his left wrist was something nefarious.

It is possible the object was Biden's rosary, which he often wears around his wrist in honour of his late son, Beau, who passed away from brain cancer in 2015. "I have not taken off the rosary Beau was wearing when he passed, since then," Biden said in an interview with Megyn Kelly in 2017. "It's my connection with him."

It appears that the story is false, according to my analysis.