Fabricated Photo Shared as John McCain Awarding Member of Islamic State Group
The Claim
The photo shows John McCain awarding a medal to a member of the Islamic State group.
News posted on
Emerging story
Facebook and Twitter accounts have recently shared a photo they claimed was of John McCain, the late Republican senator and former nominee for president of the United States, as he awarded a medal to a member of the Islamic State group.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar’s team investigated the circulated photo and found it fake. The photo is fabricated; it was manipulated to appear as if McCain was awarding a medal to a member of the Islamic State group. However, the actual photo was taken in July 2010 as the senator awarded Antonio Aburto during a promotion ceremony in Kabul, Afghanistan.
McCain served as a member of the U.S. Congress for about 30 years and ran for the U.S. presidential elections for the Republican Party in 2008, but lost it to Barack Obama, the Democratic Party candidate then. McCain died after a struggle with cancer in 2018, at the age of 81.
Translated by Ahmed N. A. Almassri
