Conspiracy theorists have a field day over 'fake' photo

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.