claim: A meme shows President Obama awarding the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Bill Clinton, Anthony Weiner, Bill Cosby, and Harvey Weinstein.
origin: After numerous women came forward to accuse powerful Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment, assault, and rape in October 2017, social media users circulated photographs of Weinstein with various politicians in an apparent attempt to smear their characters. One meme went even further, purportedly showing President Obama bestowing the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Weinstein, President Bill Clinton, Anthony Weiner, and Bill Cosby and joking that it should be renamed the â€œsexual predator awardâ€: Three women have accused Bill Clinton sexual harassment, rape, or sexual assault â€” charges that he denies.Â Anthony Weiner was sentenced to 21 months prisonÂ for exchanging sexual messages withÂ a 15-year-old girl. Dozens of women have accused Bill Cosby ofÂ drugging,Â raping and assaulting them. He denies the allegations. The only genuine image included in this meme is that of President Obama awardingÂ the Presidential Medal of Freedom toÂ President Bill Clinton during a ceremony in November 2013. The Washington Post reported at the time: < It was a ceremony rich in pageantry and politics: President Obama, at the nadir of his presidency, bestowed the Presidential Medal of Freedom on a Democratic predecessor, Bill Clinton. [â€¦] Obama uttered fewer than 300 words about Clinton. But his remarks paid tribute to the sweep of his public life â€” from transforming education as governor of Arkansas to growing the economy as the 42nd president to leading relief efforts in the wake of global natural disasters. Obama said Clintonâ€™s charitable foundation has saved â€œliterally hundreds of millions of people.â€ â€œHe still remembers as a child waving goodbye to his mom â€” tears in her eyes â€” as she went off to nursing school so she could provide for her family,â€ Obama said of Clinton. â€œAnd I think lifting up families like his own became the story of Bill Clintonâ€™s life.â€ > All three of the other images were created by taking a genuine photograph of a different recipient and then using digital manipulation to add the heads of Weinstein, Weiner, and Cosby.Â Â The photograph purportedly showing Obama with Weinstein, for instance, originally featured an image of Vice President Joe Biden: Obama surprised Biden with the Presidential Medal of Freedom during a ceremony in January 2017.Â Â The image purportedly showing Obama with Anthony Weiner was created using an image that originally featured Tom Hanks: Hanks received his award in November 2016.Â The image of Bill Cosby is also fake. The original image featured President Obama bestowing the Medal of Freedom on musician Bruce Springsteen: Although the image of Cosby with Obama is fake, the comedian truly did receive the award in 2002 â€” from President George W. Neither Weinstein nor Weiner have received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Â