This photo shows an Indonesian man who claimed he was 146 years old in 2016
- This article is more than one year old.
- Published on December 10, 2019 at 07:00
- 3 min read
- By AFP Thailand
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The photos were published in this Facebook post on December 3, 2019, which has received nearly 50,000 reactions.
The post’s Thai-language caption translates to English as: “From 1873 to 2019, very incredible! This man is already 146 years old. Don’t just pass by without wishing him a happy birthday”.
Below is a screenshot of the misleading post:
The same photos have been shared here and here on Facebook with a similar claim.
The claim is false; a reverse image search on Google and subsequent keyword search found the same photos of the man have circulated online in media reports since at least 2016.
One of the images of the man, and the image of the birthday cake, were published in this report by UK-based newspaper The Independent on January 2, 2017.
The article’s headline states: “‘World's oldest man' celebrates 146th birthday and says patience is key for long life”.
Below is the screenshot of the two images in the misleading post (L) and the photos published by The Independent (R):
The other two photographs in the misleading posts were published here and here by photo agency Rex Features on December 31, 2016.
The photo captions state: “Mbah Goto becomes the oldest man alive after celebrating his 146th birthday, Seragen, Central Java, Indonesia - 31 Dec 2016.
“Mr. Sodimejo known as Mbah Goto celebrates his birthday, from his Indonesian ID Mbah Goto documented birth is on 31st December 1870.”
Below is a screenshot comparison of the photos in the misleading post (L) and the Rex Features photos (R)
Guinness World Records says Kane Tanaka in Japan is the world’s oldest person as of 2019, according to this report published on March 9, 2019.
Jessica Spillane, the spokesperson for Guinness World Records, told AFP by email on December 6, 2019: “From what I can see from our records we have never verified Mbah Goto for one of these titles and it is likely down to the lack of ability to verify his age.
“The guidelines for these records slightly vary depending on the record in question but they encompass such things as producing the original birth certificate issued at the time of birth and photographs throughout the years which show the claimant aging”.
Other photos of the same man were published in this BBC report on May 1, 2017.
The article’s headline states: “Oldest human' dies in Indonesia 'aged 146”.
Below is the screenshot of the BBC article:
The first paragraph of the article reads: “The Indonesian man who claimed to be 146 years old - the longest living human ever - has died in his village in Central Java.”
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