Altered image of 'Malaysia's ex-PM Mahathir in hospital' spreads online

"Please pray that he recovers quickly and is discharged soon," reads part of the Malay-language caption to a black-and-white image shared on Facebook on February 18, 2024.

The picture, which appears to show an elderly man lying in bed with an oxygen mask, was shared in a Facebook group with more than 22,700 members. 

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Screenshot of the false post, taken on February 21, 2024

The post appeared days after Malaysia's Bernama news agency reported Mahathir Mohamad, who served twice as prime minister for a total of 24 years, was taken to hospital in late January 2024 for an infection and would be taking a period of rest (archived link).

The 98-year-old former leader has suffered several heart problems in recent years, including at least two heart attacks, and has undergone at least two bypass surgeries (archived link).

He was also admitted to hospital in August 2023, January 2022 and December 2021 to undergo medical checks.

The doctored image was shared elsewhere in Facebook groups with a total number of 103,000 members, such as here, here, here and here.

The posts generated more than 220 comments in total, with a number of Facebook users appearing to believe the image was a genuine photo of Mahathir's condition in the hospital. 

"Poor Tun," one user wrote, referring to Mahathir by his honorific title. "Hope Tun Mahathir Mohamad recovers completely soon," said another. 

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Screenshots of Facebook users'' comments

A reverse image search on Yandex, however, found the photo had been digitally altered to add an image of a face that resembles Mahathir.

The original picture of the person in the oxygen mask was published by US-based photo agency Getty Images here on November 16, 2016 (archived link).

Its caption says it is a stock photo showing an "old woman patient lying on hospital bed with ventilator mask on her nose".

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Screenshot of the original photo on the Getty Images website

The patient's hand, mouth and nose, the hospital wristband and the oxygen mask match those seen in the doctored image.

Below is a screenshot comparison of the doctored image (left) and the original photo from Getty Images (right), with similarities highlighted by AFP:

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Screenshot comparison of the doctored image (left) and the original photo from Getty Images (right)

The stock photo was also featured in an information page about therapeutic care for Covid-19 patients published by the US National Institutes of Health (archived link).

Two photos showing Mahathir writing and reading a newspaper were posted on his official Instagram account on February 20, 2024 (archived link).

The former premier "is currently still being treated in National Heart Institute (IJN) since 26 January 2024 and is in the process of recovering from infection", the caption says.