U.S. Congressman Tweets Doctored Image Of President Obama With Iranian President Rouhani

January 7th, 2020 - 1:16 PM EST by Matt Schimkowitz

1 comment | Contact Newsroom

Side by side doctored image of obama with President Rouhani and real image of Obama with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh

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.

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.

While many took the spread of information with grave concern, others took an opportunity to judge the manipulation, focusing on Obama's thumbs.

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."

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."



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