ALTERED: This image purportedly of Bill Gates under armed watch by US Federal marshals is manipulated

The photo is from an old #DeathPenaltyFail campaign video.

Writer: PesaCheck

This image on a Facebook post purportedly of Bill Gates under armed watch by US Federal marshals at Guantanamo Bay is ALTERED.

The billionaire is strapped to a gurney, according to a claim attributed to The Washington Post.

The post reads: “Bill Gates Arrested by US Federal Marshals; Being Held Under Armed Watch at Guantanamo Bay; Charged With War Crimes Against Humanity. Washington Post.”

A keyword search on The Washington Post’s website shows the media house did not publish such an article on Gates. There is also no information on the alleged arrest from a credible source.

A reverse image search on TinEye established that the image is old and is not of Gates as claimed.

The original image is from a YouTube video available on World News Network (WN.com) dated 16 April 2019 with the title, “#DeathPenaltyFail A Lethal Injection”.

The video description reads: “This video contains images that some viewers may find offensive. A painstaking reconstruction of a real-time execution by lethal injection that highlights some of the very specific issues relating to the USA’s preferred execution method. Using CCTV footage, authentic set design and a script based on real life events, the reality of a lethal injection is heightened to uncomfortable levels.*”

The video is part of the #DeathPenaltyFail campaign pushing for the repeal of the death penalty in the US. It appears on the campaign’s website and was first uploaded on 25 August 2016 on their YouTube channel.

A closer look at the image in the claim alongside the original one shows similarities that indicate Gate’s face was photoshopped into the latter, and a blue filter was added to the image in the claim to make it look different from the original.

PesaCheck has looked into a Facebook post with an image purportedly of Bill Gates held under armed watch by US Federal marshals at Guantanamo Bay and finds it to be ALTERED.

This fact check was published by 211 Check with support from Code for Africa’s PesaCheck and the African Fact-Checking Alliance.

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