The release of the new Barbie movie, starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, has been met with conservative outrage from the likes of Republican Texas Senator Ted Cruz to The Daily Wire's Ben Shapiro, who have decried what they see as the film's political and social messaging.
During a 43-minute video review posted on Saturday, Shapiro set fire to Barbie dolls, branding the picture a "woke" movie. Cruz led claims that the film features a map showing the "nine-dash line" that Beijing uses to represent its territorial claim over much of the South China Sea.
With figures on the right venting against the Greta Gerwig-directed film, which grossed $155 million in its opening weekend, a photo appeared on Twitter seemingly showing President Joe Biden and former President Barack Obama decked head-to-toe in pink, described as an attempt to "troll" Republicans.
The Claim
A tweet by Democratic fundraiser Jon Cooper, posted on July 24, 2023, viewed 3.1 million times, included a picture seemingly showing Joe Biden and Barack Obama walking together in pink suits, smiling. A Barbie logo was included in the top right corner of the image.
The accompanying tweet by Cooper read: "Barack and Joe trolling Republicans — love it!!"
Barack and Joe trolling Republicans — love it!! 🩷🩷 pic.twitter.com/qgn9L2Sbs8
— Jon Cooper (@joncoopertweets) July 24, 2023
The Facts
Conservative furor around the release of Barbie does give Biden the opportunity to take a quick shot at the expense of his opponents. At first glance, the images also look somewhat convincing.
However, there are multiple reasons why we can confidently conclude that the photo is inauthentic.
To start, no news outlet, commercial organization (least of all the film's distributor, Warner Bros., and Barbie's manufacturer, Mattel) or the White House has promoted the images.
Looking closely at the photo, there are a few signs indicating it is either photoshopped or AI-generated. The fingers on Obama's left hand are unusually proportioned compared to his right. This may be a result of the difficulties AI picture generation has had in creating realistic images of hands.
Biden also has a strong crop of hair, fully formed across his crown and down to the side of his head, with a wavy comb at the back, sufficiently different from his current appearance.
Both of the pink suits also lack texture and have a painted-on quality, although this could be an effect of a Photoshop adjustment.
There are also other odd artifacts in the background such as a white van and a gray vehicle that look blended together, and a warehouse building that appears bent along a side wall and the roof.
The ground on which the two leaders are walking does not look like real tarmac, with a distinctly undefined appearance, indicative of AI generation.
The Barbie logo in the photo shared on Twitter is not the same as the one used for the film. If the photo was part of promotional material for the film or otherwise associated with it, it's likely that the movie's official logo would have been used.
Additionally, the Code of Federal Regulations § 2635.702 (Use of office public office for private gain) states that "an employee of public office must not use or permit the use of his government position or title or any authority associated with his public office to endorse any product, service or enterprise."
Exceptions to the rule are "furtherance of statutory authority to promote products, services or enterprises" or "as a result of documentation of compliance with agency requirements or standards or as the result of recognition for achievement given under an agency program of recognition for accomplishment in support of the agency's mission."
It would appear that promoting Barbie would not fit under either exception. Even if the image were produced independently by the White House, it seems unlikely that Biden would risk breaching the rule in an attempt to goad opponents.
In 2020, then-President Donald Trump posed in the Oval Office with a selection of products by food manufacturer Goya. The image was posted on Instagram and was criticized for its potential breach of ethics rules.
Trump was not investigated over the matter and we may only speculate whether Biden would face similar calls for investigation if the Barbie image were real (although given the conservative criticism of the film, there's a fair chance such commentary would ensue).
Newsweek has reached out to the White House to comment on the image's authenticity. However, given the quality of the photo, the lack of its promotion beyond Twitter, and the ethical regulations that surround the promotion of products in public office, we can confidently conclude that the picture of Biden and Obama is not real.
The dual release of Barbie and Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer has been pitched against each other for weeks, with the viral term "Barbenheimer" taking flight on social media, reflecting the two film's opposite tones.
Although Nolan's film, a biopic of the American scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer and his role in the creation of the atomic bomb, made $80 million at its opening box office, Barbie dwarfed it with $155 million in ticket sales.
The Ruling
False.
Although the White House is yet to comment on the picture's authenticity, there are multiple reasons to help us conclude it isn't real. There are a number of visual inconsistencies within the image, including what looks like an outdated recreation of Biden's appearance, that strongly suggests the picture is AI-generated.
The photo has not been released by either the White House, Barbie's distributor, Warner Bros., or Barbie manufacturer Mattel.
Further, were the image real, Biden may have also breached ethics guidelines on the promotion of products and services while in public office.
Combined, these observations and reasonings confirm with near certainty that the photo is bogus.
FACT CHECK BY Newsweek's Fact Check team
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