Edited image misleads in posts claiming Trump statue replaced destroyed US monument
- This article is more than one year old.
- Published on July 14, 2022 at 07:00
- 4 min read
- By SHIM Kyu-Seok, AFP South Korea
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The claim was shared here in a Facebook post on July 10, 2022.
The post includes a screenshot of a Korean-language translation of an article from UN News, a Seoul-based online website unaffiliated with the United Nations that often shares false information and conspiracy theories.
The accompanying image appears to show a giant gold Trump bust in a field.
English and Korean-language text in the screenshot reads: "The new Georgia Guidestone has been erected! That new Georgia Guidestone is PERFECTO! What do you guys think?"
The claims circulated online after the granite monument known as the Georgia Guidestones was demolished for safety reasons, after an explosive device set off by an unknown group of people destroyed one of the slabs on July 6.
The Elbert County Chamber has since updated the page for the monument to state it is "no longer standing".
The enigmatic monument, located in Elbert County in the state of Georgia, was engraved with advice on how to protect humanity -- making it a frequent target of QAnon conspiracy theorists, including Alex Jones, while others have called it satanic.
The claim about the monument is one of many conspiracy theories circulating in South Korea, where the QAnon movement has also garnered a significant following.
The same image was shared alongside similar claims on Facebook here and on South Korean social media site Naver Blog here.
But the image has been doctored.
Georgia Guidestones photo
A reverse image search on Google found the doctored image corresponds to a photo of the still standing Georgia Guidestones, posted to Flickr on November 20, 2010, by a user called Jimmy Emerson.
The caption of the photo reads: "Located atop the highest point in Elbert County, Georgia overlooking GA Hwy 77 just south of the Hart-Elbert County line. The stones, since being erected in 1980, have been shrouded in mystery."
Below is a screenshot comparison of the doctored photo shared on Facebook (left) and the original image published on Flickr (right):
Trump bust
A combined reverse image and keyword searches on Google found the Trump bust edited into the photo corresponds with a miniature figure of the former president sold on the website Faces of History, which sells 3D printed sculptures of prominent US historical figures.
The bust's description on the website reads: "This represents the peak of my skill as of 2020, and rolls in all of the skills and best practices I have learned. This bust uses a variety of materials and processes from 3D printing to molding and casting, and also paint & finishing."
Below is a screenshot comparison of the Trump statue shared on Facebook (left) and a photo of the bust on Faces of History (right):
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is still investigating the destruction of the monument as of July 8, 2022, according to a post on its official Twitter account.
(1/4) The GBI is releasing additional surveillance video that shows an unknown person leaving an explosive device at the Georgia Guidestones.
— GA Bureau of Investigation (@GBI_GA) July 7, 2022
The video is unclear, but agents are still actively working to identify the person leaving the scene after the explosion. pic.twitter.com/WK61R7MKrs
Georgia Public Radio reported on July 13 that bombing suspects have not yet been identified and that the investigation is underway.
AFP previously debunked a claim made by UN News here, as well as other QAnon-related posts circulating in South Korea here and here.
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