What did fact‑checkers determine about claims that Joe Biden met Jill when she was a teenager?

1. What the fact‑checkers found: a consistent verdict of “false”

Major fact‑checkers — the Associated Press, Reuters, AFP, Snopes and PolitiFact — reviewed the social posts and background evidence and each concluded there is no credible support for the teenage‑babysitter story; they reported that Joe and Jill Biden were introduced on a blind date in March 1975 and that Jill was a college senior or in her early twenties at that time, not a teenager ^{[1] [2] [3] [5] [4]}.

2. The core evidence: interviews, university records and contemporary reporting

The determinations rest on direct statements by the Bidens in interviews (Jill told Vogue she was a college senior when they met), the University of Delaware graduation date that places her class year in 1975, and contemporaneous press accounts that describe their introduction in 1975 — together implying Jill was about 23 in 1975 and Joe about 32 — which fact‑checkers cite as dispositive ^{[2] [3] [6]}.

3. Origin of the rumor and a disputed counterclaim

Fact‑checkers trace the rumor to social posts recycling a long‑running narrative that Jill was a teenage babysitter; that version gained traction online and was amplified by images and captions asserting she was 15, but those posts lack corroboration and have been debunked repeatedly ^{[7] [8]}. Separately, Jill’s first husband, Bill Stevenson, has made public, unverified assertions that the Bidens met earlier in the 1970s—claims Jill Biden has denied—and fact‑checkers note those allegations are not substantiated by records or independent reporting ^{[1] [5]}.

4. Problem photographs and how they were misused

Photographs presented online as proof have been dated and contextualized by reporters and the Bidens themselves: a photo widely circulated as evidence was posted by Jill Biden and dated circa 1975 (or placed by the campaign in 1976), which would make Jill mid‑20s at the time; fact‑checkers concluded the image does not support the claim she was a teenager or a babysitter to Joe Biden’s children ^{[7] [8] [3]}.

5. How fact‑checkers handled uncertainty and standards of proof

Reporters and fact‑checkers emphasize their conclusions rely on contemporaneous reporting, public records and the principals’ own accounts; they note the absence of any contemporaneous evidence supporting the teenage‑babysitter timeline and treat uncorroborated retrospective allegations (for example, those by Stevenson) as insufficient to overturn the established timeline ^{[2] [1] [5]}.

6. Alternative viewpoints and implicit agendas in circulation

Although the consensus of fact‑checking is clear, the claim persists on partisan channels and social platforms where opponents have incentives to amplify scandalous narratives; fact‑checkers explicitly flag that the story resurfaces periodically and is often used to attack the Bidens politically, which explains why unverified assertions continue to circulate despite debunking ^{[1] [4]}.

7. Bottom line and reporting limits

The authoritative reporting and multiple fact‑checks conclude the claim is false: Joe and Jill Biden did not begin a relationship when she was a teenager babysitting his children; they met in 1975 when she was in her early 20s ^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}. Fact‑checkers rely on the Bidens’ accounts and contemporaneous records; beyond these sources, public reporting does not offer independent, verifiable evidence contradicting that timeline, and fact‑checkers mark disputed retrospective claims as unverified ^{[1] [5]}.