A false conspiracy theory claiming Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden wore a wire during the first debate on September 29 has spread significantly on YouTube, and the platform has even made money off of some of the videos.
The conspiracy theory claims photographs and videos from the debate show he was wearing a wire under his coat and in his sleeve. In reality, they show a crease in Biden’s shirt and a rosary around his wrist that he wears to honor his late son Beau Biden.
Nonetheless, the conspiracy theory has gone viral on YouTube: Media Matters found videos with a combined total of at least 1.5 million views during our review on the tracking tool BuzzSumo of videos posted after the debate with “Biden” and “wire” in the title.