In November 2023, a Forbes magazine cover with a photo of Khaled Meshal, one of the leaders of the Palestinian group Hamas, circulated on social networks. We decided to check if this is a real cover.
At the beginning of November, an image of the cover of the American magazine Forbes c appeared on the social network with a photograph of Hamas Politburo member Khaled Mashaal against the backdrop of the ruins of Gaza. The main caption on this cover stated that Meshaal is a billionaire and has a net worth of $5 billion. At the top of the image was the subtitle: “Special Issue on the World’s Greatest Liar,” and at the bottom the accompanying text: “Made his fortune from the suffering of his people and the generosity of the rest of the world.” A certified thief who left the people without bread and water. He calls himself a liberator, but in reality he stole freedom and hope for a better future from people.” This cover went viral after it was shared by the official account on November 4th Israeli Foreign Ministry on the social network X. This image was also published by the Israeli Ambassador to the Russian Federation Alexander Ben Zvi and many Russian speakers users X, in particular music critic Artemy Troitsky. November 5 in the account of the Israeli Foreign Ministry appeared and a second similar cover, but this time with another Hamas functionary, Ismail Haniyeh.
Khaled Meshal - 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 Gaza Strip - Meshaal was first headquartered in Damascus, then moved to Qatar.
Forbes magazine covers are available on the publication's website. Room for October-November 2023 year is dedicated to Mark Zuckerberg, there are no photographs of Mashal on the covers either other issues.
The fact that the episode with Mashal is not real is also evidenced by some technical details. Since June 2019, covers have been designed differently: the Forbes name now occupies not the entire width, but is shifted to the center. In addition, the fact-checking service of Agence France Presse draws attention to 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, Forbes covers generally do not have a barcode (the only exception for the last year was the December 2023 - January 2024 issue). Secondly, the barcode on the viral image is not accompanied by any digital code or other technical details.
The same applies to the second cover, with Ismail Hania: old design, errors in spelling and syntax, no trace on the official website of the magazine.
AFP has approached Forbes for comment. The publication's press service representative, Bill Hanks, responded that there were many inaccuracies on the viral cover that could not appear in the real issue.
As for the real size of Khaled Meshaal’s fortune, it is not possible to know 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 (the first was ISIS) with an annual turnover of $1 billion. October 18, 2023 US Department of the Treasury issued a document, which called Hamas’s income huge, without specifying its estimated size.
Thus, the Forbes covers with Hamas leaders are fake. However, the Israeli Foreign Ministry already on November 5 clarified, that at least in the case of the cover dedicated to Hania, we are talking about “satire and illustration.” “But you know what’s real? The bank accounts of Hamas leaders were filled with dollars at the expense of innocent Gazans,” the agency said in X.
Cover photo: social networks
- Correctiv. Gefälschtes Cover: Forbes titelte nicht, dass Hamas-Führer Khaled Mashal fünf Milliarden US-Dollar besitze.
- AFP. Fabricated Forbes covers featuring Hamas leaders circulate on social media
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