Video of Hillary Clinton endorsing Ron DeSantis is a deep fake

By: Vivek J
May 26 2023

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Context

A video has been widely shared on social media platforms purporting to show that Hillary Clinton has endorsed Ron DeSantis, the Republican Governor of Florida, for the Presidency in 2024. The video shows Hillary Clinton saying, "You know people might be surprised to hear me say this, but I actually like Ron DeSantis… Yeah, I know… He is just the kind of guy this country needs... And I really mean that. If Ron DeSantis got installed as the President, I'd be fine with that…" and so on. In the end, it shows her saying "Hail Hydra!" a reference used in the Marvel movies by an antagonist group called Hydra, a fictitious group of villains in these movies. 

The caption on one of the posts found on Twitter said, "BREAKING: Hillary Clinton just endorsed Ron DeSantis." However, Hillary Clinton, a Democrat, has not endorsed Ron DeSantis. The video showing Clinton endorsing DeSantis is a deep fake and not real. 

In Fact

Upon closely examining the video, we could observe several discrepancies in Hillary Clinton's lip movement and the audio heard.

Several people have also called out the video in the comment section of these posts and referred to it as a deep fake. By further looking into similar videos, we found that the same video was posted by an account with the username @ramble_rants. In the video's comment section, this account user has replied to a person claiming it to be a deep fake by saying, "I know, I made it w @C3Pmeme.  

We came across several similar deep fake videos by looking into the posts shared by these two accounts. The account @C3Pmeme has mentioned in its bio, along with a website link, that it was meant for entertainment and recreation. Thus, it is clear that this video is not real, as several social media users presumed it to be true. 

Furthermore, a simple reverse image search of the keyframes from the video led us to a CNBC News article dated February 10, 2022. In this article, there was an image that appeared to be from the same video that was circulating online. The image thumbnail said, "Hillary Clinton on the Today Show, December 12, 2021." 

Upon searching "today show" and the relevant date, we found the full-length video of Hillary Clinton speaking to Willie Geist on Sunday Today. This video was uploaded on YouTube on December 12, 2021. The attire of Hillary Clinton and the blurred background appeared to be the same as seen in the viral video. During the show, Mrs. Clinton discussed the possibility of President Donald Trump's running for Presindent in 2024 and what his candidacy could mean for the United States. There were no references made by Mrs. Clinton that saw her endorse the Florida Governor.  

The Verdict

The video purporting to show Hillary Clinton endorsing Ron DeSantis for President in 2024 is not real. It is a deepfake created for entertainment purposes. This was mistaken for authenticity and was picked up and shared by several social media users. Therefore, we have marked this claim as false.