Arab news Conspiracy theorists have a field day over 'fake' photo By SIRAJ WAHAB | ARAB NEWS
Published: May 2, 2011 22:05 Updated: May 2, 2011 22:05 DAMMAM: First there was shock, then resignation, then denial and finally a heavy dose of skepticism followed by loads of conspiracy theories. As word of Osama Bin Laden's killing spread on social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, young people in the Arab world reacted with caution. "Good riddance," wrote Riyadh-based Nabila S. on her Facebook. Hundreds of her online friends immediately reacted with skepticism. "He was true Muslim! Let the Americans say whatever they want to," wrote her friend Walid Attar. His comments were then "liked" by dozens of Nabila's friends. As the evening wore on, and reports of Bin Laden's body being buried at sea surfaced, a series of questions were raised. Facebookers and Tweeters went wild as links to the story were posted or re-tweeted. "I had a vague feeling in the morning that something is not alright," wrote Saudi teen Yasin Malaika. "When they announced that he had been buried at sea it only confirmed any worst doubts that there is something amiss." Conspiracies, anyone? "Yes, why would the Americans do that?" reposed Malaika's Facebook friend. "They are hiding something. Where is the proof that he died? Show me the picture. If he were killed which the Americans say he was then it would make immense sense for them to make the body public." Tweeter Hussein Shobokshi was livid at Benjamin Netanyahu's comments on Bin Laden's death. "A killer commenting on the death of a killer Netanyahu on Bin Laden! Pathetic," he wrote. "2011 keeps producing surprises! What a year!" Another Tweeter Mahmoud Sabbagh wrote: "The agenda of the Arab world today is dignity and democracy. The UBL agenda faded years ago." And in another one, he said: "The damage Bin Laden had caused Islam is beyond appalling and a collective shame." Reacting to Bin Laden being buried at sea, Rami Salamé Tweeted: "BinLaden was buried at sea, just like Alfred Hitchcock, yet another famous movie-maker." And then, "Bin Laden's burial at sea is yet more proof that the USA doesn't care for the environment!" Abdullah Mohiuddin had an interesting tweet: "Now that Bin Laden is dead, can I finally bring shampoo on a plane?" Ahmed Al Omran wrote: "The news about burying Bin Laden's body in sea are strange. That they describe this as `in accordance with Islamic Sharia' is even stranger." S.K.A. tweeted: "People questioning Bin Laden's death. The Americans celebrating his death and people are sad about his death ... I'm still in shock!" To add to the general confusion, somebody on the Internet posted a fake photo of what was claimed to be a picture of Bin Laden's corpse. This picture was then shown on one Pakistan television channel, and from there it went viral on the Internet, Facebook and Twitter. The image actually was a composite of two pictures: one of Bin Laden and the other of an unidentified bloodied man. Amelia Hill of The Guardian immediately clarified that the bloodied image of a man with matted hair and a blank, half-opened eye has been circulating on the Internet for the past two years. It was used on the front pages of The Mail, Times, Telegraph and Sun and Mirror websites and that it was swiftly removed after the fake was exposed on Twitter. © 2010 Arab News ------------------------------------ Post message: prole...@egroups.com Subscribe : proletar-subscr...@egroups.com Unsubscribe : proletar-unsubscr...@egroups.com List owner : proletar-ow...@egroups.com Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: proletar-dig...@yahoogroups.com proletar-fullfeatu...@yahoogroups.com <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: proletar-unsubscr...@yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
