Amid the Israel-Hamas war, social media users are stoking fears that U.S. citizens will soon be drafted. One video appears to show President Joe Biden himself calling American men and women to fight.
In an Oct. 15 Facebook video, Biden appears to say, “Invoke the Selective Service Act, as is my authority as President. Remember, you’re not sending your sons and daughters to war. You’re sending them to freedom.”
The video then cuts to a man who comments, “My children, my daughter, will not be participating in your f—— greedy wars.”
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This is not a real announcement, as it’s not a real video of Biden. It was generated by artificial intelligence.
The original video in full was posted Feb. 27 by the conservative Canadian publication The Post Millennial. Its caption read, “AI imagines what would happen if Biden declares and activates the Selective Service Act and begins drafting 20 years old to war.”
The video made it appear as if Biden was talking about how Russia’s war in Ukraine and “China’s blockade of Taiwan” have created a “two-front national security crisis that requires more troops than the voluntary military can supply.” China has performed military exercises to signal its ability to blockade Taiwan should it try to seize control of the island.
The video made Biden appear to say men and women who turn 20 years old in 2023 will be first to enter a national lottery.
It then shifts to commentary by Jack Posobiec, a conservative pundit affiliated with Turning Point USA: “That was an AI, I don’t wanna say recreation but maybe a pre-creation, a pre-creation of President Biden designed and scripted by our producers here for the show of what could happen if President Biden were to declare and activate the Selective Service Act and begin drafting 20-year-olds here in the United States.”
The U.S. has not had a military draft since 1973 for the Vietnam War. The Selective Service registration requirement was reinstated in 1980 by former President Jimmy Carter in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Registration allows the government to keep a list of names of men to draw from in case of a national emergency.
A draft would require congressional and presidential authorization. According to The Associated Press, defense officials confirmed as of Oct. 10 that the armed forces have not recommended the reinstatement of the draft to either Congress or the president.
The Military Selective Service Act only authorizes the registration of “male persons.” Congress would have to amend the current law in order to authorize the registration of women.
The video does not show Biden saying he is invoking the Selective Service Act. We rate that claim False.
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