In November 2023, the cover of Forbes magazine with a photograph of Haled Mashal, one of the leaders of the Palestinian group Hamas, spread on social networks. We decided to check if this is a real cover.
In early November, an image of the cover of the American Forbes magazine with a photograph of a member of the Politburo Hamas Haleda Mashalya against the backdrop of the ruins of Gaza appeared on the social network of the American magazine. The main inscription on this cover stated that Mashal is a billionaire and his fortune is $ 5 billion. In the upper part of the image there was a subtitle: “A special release about the greatest liar in the world”, below - an accompanying text: “Made his condition on the sufferings of his people and the generosity of the rest of the world. A certified thief who left people without bread and water. He calls himself a liberator, but actually stole freedom and hope for people for a better future. ” This cover was widespread after the official account shared it on November 4 Israeli Foreign Ministry On the social network H. Also, this image was published by the Israeli ambassador to the Russian Federation Alexander Ben Zvi And many Russian -speaking Users X, in particular, a musical critic Artemy Troitsky. November 5 in the Israeli Foreign Ministry account appeared And the second similar cover, but this time with another functionar Hamas, Ismail Hania.
Khaled Mashal - One of the most influential Hamas leaders. Until 2017, he headed the Politburo of the terrorist group and participated in many negotiations, including in Russia. He lives outside the Hamas controlled by the Gaza sector-at first the headquarters of Mashal was in Damascus, then he moved to Qatar.
Forbes magazine covers are available on the publication website. Number for October-November 2023 Dedicated to Mark Zuckerberg, there are no photos of Mashal and on the covers other issues.
The fact that the release with the Mashal is unreasonable is evidenced by some technical details. Since June 2019, the covers have been made out differently: the Forbes name now does not occupy the entire width, but is shifted to the center. In addition, the France Presse agency Pays attention For numerous errors in the English text on the cover with Mashal.
Finally, a barcode is placed in the lower right corner of the image. Firstly, there is as a rule on Forbes covers, as a rule, there is no barcode (the only exception over the past year is the issue for December 2023-January 2024). Secondly, the barcode in the viral image is not accompanied by any digital code and other technical details.
The same applies to the second cover, with Ismail Hania: old design, mistakes in spelling and syntax, no traces on the official website of the magazine.
AFP turned to Forbes for a comment. The representative of the press service of the publication Bill Hanks replied that there are many inaccuracies on the viral cover that could not appear in this issue.
As for the real size of Khaled Mashal, it is not possible to recognize it due to the closed nature of the Hamas group. In 2014 the same Forbes Published a rating The richest terrorist organizations in which Hamas took second place (ISIS was the first) with an annual turnover of $ 1 billion on October 18, 2023 US Department of Finance released the documentIn which Hamas called the income of Hamas, without specifying their estimated size.
Thus, Forbes covers with Hamas leaders are fake. However, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs is already on November 5 ClarifiedWhat, at least in the case of the cover dedicated to Khania, is about “satire and illustrations”. “But you know what is real? The banking accounts of Hamas leaders were replenished with dollars at the expense of the innocent residents of Gaza, ”the department said in X.
Photo on the cover: social networks
- Correctiv. Gefälschtes Cover: Forbes Titelte Nicht, Dass Hamas-Führer Khaled Milliarden Us-Dollar Besitze.
- AFP. Fabricated Forbes Covers Featings Hamas Leaders Circulat ON Social Media
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