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United States Representative Paul Gosar (R-AZ) tweeted a digitally-altered image of President Barack Obama shaking hands with the President of Iran last night. The post has been interpreted as a comment on the ongoing political crisis with Iran, following the U.S. assassination of General Qasenm Soleimani on January 3rd.
The image is a manipulated version of a photograph of President Obama shaking hands with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
"The world is a better place without these guys in power," wrote Rep. Gosar.
The world is a better place without these guys in power. pic.twitter.com/gDoXQu9vO5
— Paul Gosar (@DrPaulGosar) January 6, 2020
Swift Twitter users were quick to point out the forgery, accusing Gossar of spreading misinformation. Obama had never met with Rouhani, many argued. Additionally, Rouhani is still in power, countering the congressman's caption, which indicated otherwise.
1. This photo is a fake photoshop effort. Obama never met with
HassanRouhani</a>. 2) Rouhani *is still* president of Iran. <a href="https://twitter.com/DrPaulGosar?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">DrPaulGosar is a US congressman but yet tweets out this kind of blatant misinformation. https://t.co/aRHuJh51vk— Daniel Medina (@dmedin11) January 6, 2020
also doesn't even make sense since rouhani is … still in office
— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) January 6, 2020
It’s literally a fake photo, Photoshopped from a real photo of Obama meeting the Indian Prime Minister. @TwitterSupport please fix this. https://t.co/PAMpDBfqjg
— John Aravosis🇺🇸 (@aravosis) January 6, 2020
While many took the spread of information with grave concern, others took an opportunity to judge the manipulation, focusing on Obama's thumbs.
Hilarious! GOP congressman @DrPaulGosar shares fake photo showing Obama with two thumbs on his left hand. And Obama’s second left thumb is white! https://t.co/m1FzLzKDN2 pic.twitter.com/O4r3DKKZdO
— John Aravosis🇺🇸 (@aravosis) January 6, 2020
Just how many thumbs does President Obama have on his left hand anyway? https://t.co/kCujPkCN3p
— Steve Kleypas (@Kanopsis) January 6, 2020
This was not the first time the image of Obama with Rhouani made headlines. In 2015, an advertisement for Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson featured the image as an argument against the Iran Nuclear Deal.
Congressman Gosar defended his tweet, stating that "No one said this wasn’t photoshopped." He went on to write that his tweet was not meant to be taken literally, but rather a statement on how Obama had dealt with Iran during his presidency.
"No one said this wasn’t photoshopped," tweeted Gosar. "No one said the president of Iran was dead. No one said Obama met with Rouhani in person."
2. The point remains to all but the dimmest: Obama coddled, appeased, nurtured and protected the worlds No. 1 sponsor of terror. The world is better without Obama as president. The world will be better off without Rouhani.
— Paul Gosar (@DrPaulGosar) January 6, 2020
However, not everyone believed his defense. Critics of Gosar and his tweet were quick to mock and criticize his explanation. Some pointed out that the tweet was not an isolated incident and reflected conspiracy theories that "Obama harbored pro-Muslim sentiments rooted in his ethnic origin."
Gosar spoke at the Trumpstock event I went to in his district. Focusing on the fakeness of the image doesn't grasp the whole point. It's the conspiracy it perpetuates, that Obama harbored pro-Muslim sentiments rooted in his ethnic origin, that remains pervasive https://t.co/k10R7lL9BN
— Steadman™ (@AsteadWesley) January 6, 2020
“The sky is green”
“It’s actually blue bro”
“To all the dimwits like you, let me say: no one said my statement was accurate. Checkmate!”— Dr. Jens Foell (@fMRI_guy) January 6, 2020
“We never claimed to be telling the truth!”
— Mark Russell (@Manruss) January 6, 2020
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