QUESTION:
Is a viral photo of Putin yanking Obama's tie real?
ANSWER:
Nope, it's photoshopped.
SOURCES:
Obama White House official Flikr photo gallery
Pete Souza- Offiical White House photographer for the Obama Administration
PROCESS:
Political enthusiasts love comparing the current and former administration, and since Tuesday, lots of people online began resurfacing photos of Obama and Putin.
Following the Helsinki Summit, where Trump and the Putin discussed sanctions and Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, a flurry of photos emerged portraying a tense relationship between Obama and the Kremlin.
This one shows Russian president pulling Obama's tie, in a display of obedience.
It's widely-circulated, but is it true?
We can Verify, this image is photoshopped. First, take a look at the picture quality. A blurry photo like this should immediately raise red flags. Pair that with the source of the photo: @Trump_4_Veterans.
Our research team found that conservative twitter accounts shared this fake photo.
We traced the original back to former White House photographer for the Obama Administration Pete Souza.
In the wake of the hoax, Souza reposted the photo taken at a commemoration for the 70th anniversary of D-Day on June 6, 2014. The photo is also located on the Obama White House Flikr page.
