One such image has surfaced online showing an Argentine Footballer holding Israel's flag. Users claim that Lionel Messi is supporting Israel.
Amidst the Israel-Palestine war, much false information is being disseminated on social media sites. One such image has surfaced online showing an Argentine Footballer holding Israel’s flag. Users claim that Lionel Messi is supporting Israel.
The claim made by the user
An X user named, Eretz Israel shared an image depicting Messi holding the Israeli flag. While sharing the image the user wrote “We love You, Leo Messi”
The claim made by other users
Many other users on social media are also sharing the same image with similar claims.
Fact Check
To know the truth behind the viral image, the DFRAC team reverse-searched the image on Google. We came across the icons.com website. We found a similar image of Messi holding an Icons.com Placard. The image is from an event organized by Icons.com where Lionel Messi personally signed the iconic 2022 Argentina home shirt during a private signing session in Miami on 29 September 2023.
Furthermore, we uploaded the same image on FotoForensics and found that the image has been photoshopped as Israeli flag can be seen highlighted in the image shown below.
Conclusion
Therefore, it is clear from the DFRAC’S fact-check that the image depicting Messi holding Israeli flag has been photoshopped as this image is from an event which was organized by icons.com in Miami on 29 September,2023.
