FACT CHECK: Forbes Cover Featuring Former Hamas Leader Is Digitally Altered
A photo shared on Instagram allegedly shows an October 2023 Forbes cover featuring former Hamas leader Khaled Mashal.
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Verdict: False
The photo does not show a genuine Forbes cover, a Forbes spokesperson confirmed in an email to Check Your Fact.
Fact Check:
Actress Gal Gadot conducted a graphic screening of atrocities committed by Hamas during the Oct. 7 attack on Israel at the Los Angeles Museum of Tolerance on Wednesday, according to Fox News. As a result, a mass brawl broke out outside the venue, and officers from the Los Angeles Police Department arrived at the scene and used pepper spray, Newsweek reported.
Nonprofit pro-Israel organization Stand With Us posted an alleged Forbes cover depicting Mashal. His photo is superimposed in front of people walking around in the rubble of buildings.
The purported cover shows an image of Mashal along with the text “Khaled Marshal $5,000,000,000 BILLIONAIRE.” Text underneath reads, “Made his fortune defrauding his people and the generosity of the world. A licensed thief who leaves his people hungry for bread and water. Calls himself a liberator but in fact he is the one who steals their freedom and a better future.”
Text at the top claims that the issue was published on Oct. 7, 2023, and a sidebar reads, “TIPS AND TRICKS FOR DESTRUCTION OF YOUR OWN COUNTRY.” The Instagram caption reads, in part, “Khaled Mashal, a Hamas leader currently residing in a luxury hotel in Qatar, thrives on exploiting his own people and manipulating global sympathy.”
The actual Forbes cover for October features Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. There is no cover featuring Mashal in Forbes’ archive or on any of the outlet’s verified social media accounts. Likewise, there are no credible news reports to corroborate the claim. (RELATED: No, Forbes Did Not Report That Burning Man Had An Ebola Outbreak)
“That’s not a real Forbes cover,” a Forbes spokesperson told Check Your Fact in an email.
Check Your Fact has reached out to Stand With Us for comment and will update this piece accordingly if one is received.
Note: Check Your Fact is working to debunk false and misleading claims from the recent event. Please send tips to [email protected].
