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The Big Lies › 2017 › File PF-0048
Debunked

Polish first lady 'snubs' Trump's handshake

Outlets ran a few-second clip from Trump's Warsaw visit as proof that Poland's first lady, Agata Kornhauser-Duda, refused to shake Trump's hand.

First reported Jul 6, 2017 · Newsweek, Vanity Fair, TIME, Mediaite, CNN (Chris Cillizza tweet)
Screenshot of the original report as published
Screenshot of the report as published: time.com. Tap to open the source.
Who it helped: Democrats

The clip fed a running narrative that foreign leaders were openly shunning Trump.

What was reported

Outlets ran a few-second clip from Trump's Warsaw visit as proof that Poland's first lady, Agata Kornhauser-Duda, refused to shake Trump's hand.

What actually happened

Longer footage showed she greeted Melania Trump first and then turned and shook the president's hand. Poland's president publicly rejected the snub reports. Newsweek and Vanity Fair updated their stories to note the handshake happened, Mediaite appended an update, and CNN's Chris Cillizza posted a walk-back after tweeting the clip.

The proof

The full video shows the handshake, and the outlets' own later updates acknowledge it.

The receipt. Copy this and paste it anywhere:

Polish first lady 'snubs' Trump's handshake — Debunked. The full video shows the handshake, and the outlets' own later updates acknowledge it. Full file: https://www.thepropagandafiles.com/case/polish-first-lady-handshake-snub/

Original reporting

Corrections, findings & records

Archived copies

Stories get edited after publication. These open the Internet Archive's earliest saved copy of each original.

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