An unfounded conspiracy theory that Joe Biden might wear a hidden earpiece during the first presidential debate swept social media in the lead-up to the clash despite the Biden campaign team dismissing the claim as "absurd".
President Donald Trump's team on Tuesday fanned the conspiracy theory by loudly demanding his opponent be checked for a secret device - presumably intended to give him answers.
The president has sought to portray Mr Biden as senile and needing help to get through the debate.
"Joe Biden's handlers several days ago agreed to a pre-debate inspection for electronic earpieces but today abruptly reversed themselves and declined," Tim Murtaugh, Trump 2020 communications director, said in a statement on Tuesday.
"On top of the refusal to take a drug test, it seems pretty obvious that the Biden team is looking for any safety net they can find in the hours leading up to the debate."
Mr Biden's deputy campaign manager Kate Bedingfield called the earpiece claim "absurd" and shot back with her own bit of rumour mongering, claiming that Trump's team had tried unsuccessfully to ensure that the debate moderator, Fox News' Chris Wallace, would never mention the number of US deaths from COVID-19.
The Democratic hopeful also made fun of the theory on social media, tweeting that he had his "earpiece and performance enhancers ready" for the debate.
The earpiece conspiracy, which has continued to spread on social media after the Trump campaign's comments and coverage from conservative outlets such as Fox News and Breitbart, reportedly first went viral on Facebook and YouTube.
NBC News reported that coordinated Facebook pages with names like “US Conservative” and “The Unhinged Left” started sharing posts on Tuesday, in the lead-up to the debate.
“Joe Biden should be inspected for a hidden ear piece as well as submit to a drug test before the debate. Share if you agree!” read the viral post.
The meme was shared thousands of times, with the claim also receiving support from believers of the QAnon conspiracy theory.
It's not the first time hidden earpiece theories have circulated during US presidential elections.
Al Gore, George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have all faced similar claims since the 2010 election, according to the New York Times.
