An image shared on Facebook purportedly shows the person ranked as the world’s tallest man by the Guinness Book of World Records.

Verdict: False

Guinness World Records currently lists Robert Wadlow as the tallest man ever and Sultan Kösen as the tallest living man.

Fact Check:

The Facebook post, which features a photo of a seemingly very tall man, alleges in the caption, “Joshua Ladu, a South Sudanese man ranked as the tallest person in Guinness book of records. His height stands at around 9’8 FT.” (RELATED: Hoax Claims A Woman Had 14 Children Fathered By 14 Different Men)

A search of the Guinness World Records website yielded no results for a man by that name, however. The organization lists Robert Wadlow, who lived from 1918 to 1940, as the tallest man ever at eight feet, 11 inches tall. In an Oct. 21 article, Guinness World Records said it was “highly unlikely that any human will ever reach such a size again.” A photo of Wadlow can be found on the Guinness World Records website.

Sultan Kösen, who stands at 8 feet, 2.8 inches tall, currently holds the title of tallest living man, according to Guinness World Records. The organization also called him the tallest living man in a March 31, 2021 article that featured several pictures of him. In another article published in October, Guinness World Records called Rumeysa Gelgi, who is 7 feet tall, the tallest living woman.

While Check Your Fact was unable to trace the origin of the image in the Facebook post, reverse image searches via Google and TinEye show it has been circulating online since at least May 2020. There also don’t appear to be any major media outlets reporting someone named Joshua Ladu was named the world’s tallest man by Guinness World Records.

Amanda Marcus, a PR manager with the Guinness World Records North America, confirmed to Check Your Fact in an email that Sultan Kosen holds the record for tallest man living.

Update: This article was updated to include a response from the Guinness Book of World Records.