An image shared on Facebook purportedly shows two people fumigating the Oval Office ahead of President Joe Biden’s arrival.

Facebook/Screenshot

Verdict: False

The altered image is a composite of two separate pictures. It originated from a 2017 satirical article published by Waterford Whispers News.

Fact Check: 

Amid Biden being sworn in as the 46th president and former President Donald Trump leaving the White House, the image circulated on both Facebook and Twitter. Some users shared the image with captions suggesting it shows two people fumigating the Oval Office ahead of Biden’s arrival.

While the federal government did clean the White House before Biden moved in, the image does not depict part of that process taking place. A reverse image search revealed the doctored image originated in a May 2017 article published by the satirical newspaper Waterford Whispers News. The image appears to have been created by superimposing a photo of government employees fumigating for mosquitoes in Argentina over a photo of an Oval Office replica at the William J. Clinton Presidential Center in Arkansas.

The picture of the mosquito fumigation can be found on the stock photo website Alamy, while the Oval Office replica photo can be found on Shutterstock. (RELATED: Does This Video Show Joe Biden And Others Violating COVID-19 Guidelines At His Birthday Party Last Week?)

The White House always undergoes a thorough cleaning between presidents. ABC News reported that government contracts show that over $200,000 has been spent on additional cleaning services for the White House transition from Trump to Biden, including about $44,000 on “Inaugural carpet cleaning” and about $29,500 for “Inaugural curtains cleaning.”