A statement released by the former US President Joe Biden's office and cited by international media informed that the 82-year-old had been diagnosed with an "aggressive" prostate cancer that had "metastasized to the bone."

The cancer diagnosis drew an outpouring of sympathy from supporters and rivals alike.

But the news also ignited speculations among Trump allies, and misinformation on social media platforms.

Hours after the information became public, inaccuracies started circulating about Biden's diagnosis and speculations about whether his medical condition was known before and hidden from the public. These were shared by prominent political figures and commentators.

DW Fact check analyzed the most viral claims.

Claim: "What I want to know is how did Dr. Jill Biden miss stage five metastatic cancer or is this yet another coverup???" Donald Trump Jr. wrote on X. The post reached 5.4 million people and was liked by 37K people at the time of publishing.

DW Fact check: False

In the post, the US president's oldest son and CEO of the Trump Organization refers to Biden's prostate cancer as a "stage five" cancer. This is inaccurate and can lead to confusion.

German Cancer Aid (German: Deutsche Krebshilfe) is a not-for-profit organization that fights cancer in all its forms. It explains that there are two internationally standardized classifications for prostate cancer: the TNM staging system and the Gleason grading system.

The TNM classification describes the overall stage of different types of cancer, based on standards that indicate: the size and extent of the tumor (T), if the cancer cells have invaded the lymph nodes (N) and if metastases (M) are present in other organs.

Once determined, these values are combined to assign an overall stage, usually described with a Roman number from I (1) to IV (4).

As the American Cancer Society explains, stage I cancers are less advanced and have a better prognosis, while in stage IV the cancer has spread (metastasized) to distant parts of the body and might require........

© Deutsche Welle