GOP Congressman Freaks After People Call Out His Fake Obama Photo
A Republican lawmaker wasn’t happy when he was exposed for using a fake photo to spread propaganda.
On Monday, Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) tweeted a doctored pic that showed former President Barack Obama meeting with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani — an encounter that never happened. The photo was captioned: “The world is a better place without these guys in power.”
The world is a better place without these guys in power. pic.twitter.com/gDoXQu9vO5
— Paul Gosar (@DrPaulGosar) January 6, 2020
CNN journalist Andrew Kaczynski noted that Gosar was sharing a misleadingly edited version of a photo that was taken in 2011 — when Obama met not with Rouhani, but with former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
U.S. congressman sharing a fake photo. This photoshopped from Obama meeting India's prime minister. https://t.co/7UMjyPwFDQ pic.twitter.com/ckRZx3ktok
— andrew kaczynski🤔 (@KFILE) January 6, 2020
Journalist Daniel Medina also pointed out that Rouhani was still in power and condemned Gosar’s attempt to spread disinformation.
1. This photo is a fake photoshop effort. Obama never met with @HassanRouhani. 2) Rouhani *is still* president of Iran. @DrPaulGosar is a US congressman but yet tweets out this kind of blatant misinformation. https://t.co/aRHuJh51vk
— Daniel Medina (@dmedin11) January 6, 2020
Despite the criticism, Gosar defended his use of the doctored image in a follow-up tweet: “To the dim witted reporters like @dmedin11: No one said this wasn’t photoshopped. No one said the president of Iran was dead. No one said Obama met with Rouhani in person. The tweet says: ‘the world is a better place without either of them in power.’”
Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today.
1. To the dim witted reporters like @dmedin11: no one said this wasn’t photoshopped. No one said the president of Iran was dead. No one said Obama met with Rouhani in person.
The tweet says: “the world is a better place without either of them in power”. https://t.co/zwLPPXniQh— Paul Gosar (@DrPaulGosar) January 6, 2020
Gosar continued to argue that the tweet was truthful, avoiding the fact that the photo wasn’t.
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
But people on Twitter weren’t moved by Gosar’s logic. Rep. Sean Casten (D-Ill.) tweeted: “The world would be a better place if elected officials didn’t share photoshopped images and take pride in being ignorant.”
The world would be a better place if elected officials didn't share photoshopped images and take pride in being ignorant. This is irresponsible. https://t.co/fT5uwf5FNb
— Sean Casten (@SeanCasten) January 6, 2020
One Twitter user suggested that Gosar had invented a new catchphrase:
"no one said this isn't photoshopped" is the Gettysburg address of modern politics
— Sean Morrow (@snmrrw) January 6, 2020
Some people responded to Gosar’s photoshopped pic with photos of President Donald Trump and North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, who actually met.
You are just an idiot for tweeting it out in the first place. I hope AZ kicks you to the curbside in November. You are despicable, & a complete #TrumpChump. Here is a picture of your master shaking hands w/his hero, a tyrant & a man who kills his own people. You must be in love! pic.twitter.com/SKHlmhzm1W
— Tiny Dancer (@ReelDancing) January 6, 2020
Another user observed that Gosar’s tweet was “only intended to incite fear and hate at a Black Christian man and a Brown Muslim man.”
That was my first thought.
The factual incorrectness of the photo and the half-truth-laden caption together support that this photo is only intended to incite fear and hate at a Black Christian man and a Brown Muslim man.
That's all.
It's that simple.— Papillon Noir (@hopeforall) January 6, 2020
Of course, tweeting bizarre and inappropriate things is nothing new for Gosar, who made news when six of his siblings did campaign ads for his opponent in 2018.
On Christmas, he tweeted out a strange Christmas message with a video of former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton nearly getting hit by a falling studio light during an interview.
Also on HuffPost
This article originally appeared on HuffPost.