Altered photo shows Donald Trump's face on golfer John Daly

"Is this in Florida? Because he is beyond Six weeks," Florida Congressman Jared Moskowitz said in a June 23, 2023 tweet, referring to legislation in the southern US state that would ban abortions after six weeks of pregnancy.

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Screenshot from Twitter taken June 27, 2023

Michael Cohen, Trump's former personal attorney and fixer, also shared the image to his more than 600,000 Twitter followers.

But the picture is altered -- the original shows Daly, a two-time Major champion long known for a chaotic lifestyle and often disheveled appearance at tournaments. On the course, Daly is easily identifiable, as in these pictures, because he uses an overly-long backswing that goes far past parallel, an unorthodox style at odds with most of his contemporaries.

The edited version of the photo has circulated for years; independent fact-checking organizations debunked it in 2017 and 2021.

Reverse image searches show the unaltered picture has been online since at least April 2006, when one website (archived here) said it showed Daly practicing at Augusta National Golf Club ahead of that year's Masters Tournament. The event took place April 6 to 9 in the US state of Georgia.

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Screenshot from liberallylean.com taken June 27, 2023

AFP could not independently verify who captured the original photo of Daly, who has expressed support for Trump in the past.

However, an Associated Press photo (archived here) taken April 3, 2006 during the Masters practice round appears to show Daly in an identical outfit. A video (archived here) from the same day also shows the clothing.

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Screenshot from the Associated Press taken June 27, 2023

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Screenshot from YouTube taken June 27, 2023

 

Photos from other 2006 tournaments show Daly in similar garb, including Maxfli hats and shirts with the logo of the company 84 Lumber. The extra-long backswing in the picture shared online also appears to match Daly's signature form.

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Golfer John Daly of the US watches his tee shot on the sixth hole August 17, 2006 during the first round of the 88th PGA golf championship at the Medinah Country Club in Medinah, Illinois ( AFP / JEFF HAYNES)

AFP contacted the Trump campaign and a representative for Daly for comment, but responses were not forthcoming.

AFP has debunked other altered images here, here and here.