FACT CHECK: Does This Photo Show A Protester Holding A âBarack Hussein Obama = COVIDâ Sign?
An image shared on Facebook purportedly shows a protester holding a sign that mathematically links former President Barack Obama to COVID-19.
âSilly Trumpsters!â reads the caption. âLearn to add before you create your sign.â
Verdict: False
The words âBarack Hussein Obama = COVIDâ have been superimposed over the signâs original message âGive Me Liberty or Give Me Death.â
Fact Check:
Featured in the image is a woman wearing an American flag tank top and holding a protest sign. The sign bears the words âBarack Hussein Obama = COVIDâ with the letters of the former presidentâs full name purportedly adding up to the â19â in COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus.
Through a reverse image search, the Daily Caller found the original image on the Orange County Register website. Taken by the Orange County Registerâs Jeff Gritchen, the photo actually shows the female protester holding a sign with the words âGive Me Liberty or Give Me Death.â The woman was participating in a protest against coronavirus closures in Huntington Beach, California, on April 17, according to the caption.
The words âBarack Hussein Obama = COVIDâ have been superimposed into the photo. Itâs also worth noting that the number of letters in Obamaâs full name adds up to 18, not 19 as the doctored image suggests. (RELATED: Does Tonic Water And Zinc Kill COVID-19?)
Protests against stay-at-home orders and other coronavirus mitigation guidelines have taken place in several states, including Michigan, Wisconsin and California. Some of the Facebook pages that organize such protests have become hotbeds for misinformation related to the new coronavirus, according to The Associated Press.