In an election year like no other, the first debate between President Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger, Joe Biden, could be a pivotal moment in a race that has remained stubbornly unchanged in the face of historic tumult. Video / AP
Hours before the first US presidential debate, a weird conspiracy theory about Joe Biden suddenly exploded on social media.
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Biden might wear an earpiece during the debate, allowing advisers to feed him answers, suddenly blew up on Facebook and YouTube this morning.
At 7.28am US time, a bunch of Facebook pages with names like "US Conservative", "Defiant America" and "The Unhinged Left" published the same meme, which said Biden "should be inspected for a hidden earpiece" before the debate. It was shared thousands of times.
New from me: The viral earpiece conspiracy theory was pushed by coordinated Facebook accounts at the same second this morning.
Earlier, a New York Post reporter said the Biden campaign had "agreed to an inspection for electronic earpieces at tonight's debate several days ago but are now declining". She cited an anonymous source.
That report then gained traction on conservative media sites, such as Breitbart, and among US President Donald Trump's supporters on social media.
"If Joe Biden isn't hiding anything, why won't he consent to a third party checking for an earpiece before tonight's debate?" said conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany posted the report as fact on her own Facebook page. And the Trump campaign's communications director Tim Murtaugh issued an official statement.
"Joe Biden's handlers several days ago agreed to a pre-debate inspection for electronic earpieces but today abruptly declined," Murtaugh said.
"Biden's handlers have asked for multiple breaks during the debate, which President Trump doesn't need, so we have rejected that request.
"With his 47 years as a failed Washington politician, how much help does Biden want?"
The two men face off today in the much-anticipated debate. Photo / File
The Biden campaign says these claims are flat out false.
"Of course he's not wearing an earpiece, and we never asked for breaks," spokeswoman Kate Bedingfield told reporters.
"It is pathetic, it's weak. Once again the Trump campaign is lying."
So that is where we're at as we count down to the debate. What, you thought these two would play nice?
By the way, if all this talk about earpieces feels vaguely familiar to you, that is probably because Trump's supporters floated the same conspiracy theory about Hillary Clinton four years ago.
