Facts Matter: Trump's facial features altered in video from court

While on the campaign trail, former President Donald Trump has also been spending time in court.

In a video clip posted on social media from Trump's appearance at a New York fraud trial, the former president's features appear softer, almost blurry. And the user suggests the person in the clip isn't actually Trump.

"Who's behind the mask?" a Facebook post with the video reads. "We all know by now that a majority of who we see, aren't who we are seeing. Whether it's a mask, a holographic image or a clone/body double. This is theatrical performance on a massive scale. Only time will tell who was being psyoped."

But that is Trump in the video, sitting in the courtroom on Nov. 6, according to Reuters. However, his appearance has been altered. Images taken by Reuters at that event show the former president as he normally appears.

In the manipulated clip, which was shared across X and TikTok, Trump's nose is narrower and his skin appears smoother. In a side-by-side comparison of the actual video from that day and the clip posted on social media, it appears Trump's features are softened and he looks much younger.

It wasn't Biden falling down stairs

President Joe Biden has had a few miscues, such as tripping up the stairs of Air Force One or falling off his bike, but social media users are mistakenly giving him credit for a different fall earlier this year.

A video from a Polish news report taken during Biden's February trip to Poland shows people exiting the rear of Air Force One at Chopin Airport in Warsaw. One person slips and slides down the stairs as other people on the tarmac try to help him.

"BREAKING! Biden has landed in the Poland and already fell! Lord have mercy," read the text on a Feb. 21 X post that included the video.

A person who is not identified fell while disembarking from the plane, but it wasn't Biden, according to The Associated Press. The president exited from the front of the plane while the group of other people, including the man who tripped, exited from the back.

News coverage of the event shows Biden walking down the staircase alone, without incident.

Pepsi didn't change can because of war

A post circulating on social media claims Pepsi, which it calls an Israeli company, changed the design of its can because of the Israel-Hamas conflict.

"The Israeli company PEPSI has changed the design to avoid the boycott and wrote Palestine. Do not fall for this deception. Continue the boycott of both PEPSI and COKE brands," text in the post reads.

But this claim is wrong on a few levels, according to USA Today.

PepsiCo is not an Israeli company. It's an American company founded in the late 1800s in New Bern, N.C. The new can design referenced in the post predates the Israel-Hamas war, which began in October.

Pepsi changed its logo in March, and a new can design can be seen in an Aug. 17 post on X. Also, Dragon Studios, a digital marketing company that does work for PepsiCo, posted a video on Facebook on Aug. 16 showing the design process to create the look of the new can.

Gadot didn't join Israeli army

A social media post claims actress Gal Gadot, star of DC's "Wonder Woman" movies, has joined the Israeli army to help during the recent Israel-Hamas conflict. Gadot has been a vocal supporter of Israel.

"Israeli actress Gal Gadot who played Wonder Woman in the Hollywood movie turns up at for (sic) army service," reads the post, which includes a photo of Gadot saluting while wearing a backpack and standing near a military recruitment facility in Israel.

But this claim is false, according to USA Today. That photo dates back to at least 2017.

"She has not joined the army this year," Gadot's publicist Melissa Raubvogel told USA Today.

Gadot did serve in the Israel Defense Forces from 2005 to 2007; military service is compulsory for Israeli citizens 18 and older who are Jewish, Druze and Circassian, although there are some exceptions, according to the IDF website. Women are expected to serve for two years while men serve at least 32 months.

• Bob Oswald is a veteran Chicago-area journalist and former news editor of the Elgin Courier-News. Contact him at boboswald33@gmail.com.