Truth: This isn’t what she really said, and the audio on the video has been altered. The real footage shows Mrs Obama actually said “successful people” not “successful gay men”.
A clip of Michelle Obama’s speech at the Democratic National Convention is circulating on social media with manipulated audio. The video, shared on platforms such as X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook, shows the former First Lady speaking at the event in Chicago on 21 August.
In the doctored footage, Mrs. Obama appears to say: “For years, Donald Trump did everything in his power to try to make people fear us. See, his limited, narrow view of the world made him feel threatened by the existence of two hardworking, highly educated, successful gay men who happen to be black.”
Accompanying the clip is a caption that reads: “Did Michelle Obama just say what I think she said?”
However, the video has been edited. In reality, Mrs. Obama made no mention of gay men in her speech. Verified footage and the full transcript confirm that she actually said, “highly educated, successful people who happen to be black.”
This altered video seems to be part of a broader pattern of baseless theories aimed at questioning Mrs. Obama’s gender—a narrative that has circulated in certain online communities.
While some of these claims might seem obviously false, it’s crucial to fact-check them because not everyone may recognize them as untrue, especially casual internet users. We’ve addressed this issue in more detail elsewhere.
Before sharing content on social media, it’s important to verify its authenticity. Our guide to spotting deepfakes and AI-manipulated audio offers useful tips on how to do this.
We’ve previously fact-checked other videos with altered audio, including those involving Kamala Harris and Keir Starmer.
