Barack Obama’s taped fingers evidence he’s connected to his chef’s death? That’s a conspiracy theory

After Tafari Campbell, a personal chef for Barack and Michelle Obama and a former White House sous chef, died in a paddleboarding accident near the Obamas’ Martha’s Vineyard home, social media users sought to cast the accident as a murder involving the former president.

Campbell, 45, went missing July 23 while paddleboarding on Edgartown Great Pond. Another unnamed paddleboarder saw him go into the water and struggle to stay afloat, the Massachusetts State Police said. 

Campbell’s body was recovered the next morning about 100 feet from shore in about 8 feet of water, police said. In a July 24 press release identifying Campbell, police said the Obamas were not at their home at the time of the accident.

Many social media posts have falsely cast Campbell’s death as mysterious. And photos of Barack Obama golfing this past weekend with bandages on his hand became grist for their conspiracies.

"This is the very first picture taken of Barack Hussein Obama just days after his personal chef, Tafari Campbell, mysteriously died in 3 feet of water at Obama’s home in Martha’s Vineyard," read the caption on a July 29 Instagram post. "Golfing, no care in the world. Black Eye. Cuts on his hands. As if he got into a fight. VERY odd."

The Instagram post included photos taken July 28 by The Daily Mail, a British tabloid newspaper, of Obama golfing at Vineyard Golf Club near his vacation home. One of the images in the Instagram post zoomed in on one of Obama’s hands, with what appears to be bandages or tape around two of his fingers.

This post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)

Several social media posts used those photos to make a similar alleged connection between Obama’s fingers and Campbell’s death, as did an article in the conservative Gateway Pundit.

There’s nothing to suggest that Campbell’s death was anything other than an accident. The Massachusetts State Police did not return our request for comment, but a police spokesperson told The Associated Press on July 26 that there’s no evidence Campbell’s death was suspicious, he suffered no head trauma and the unnamed witness was not a member of the Obama family. An autopsy has been completed and officials are awaiting toxicology reports, which could take weeks, the AP reported.

The Vineyard Gazette also reported that the medical examiner’s office found no external injuries on Campbell and that they are not considering the death suspicious. In a joint statement released to some media outlets after Campbell’s death, the Obamas called him a "beloved part of our family."

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Golfers routinely wear bandages on their fingers. Swinging a club repeatedly can cause blisters or calluses that can crack and become painful. 

To combat that, golfers use tape on their fingers, as golf legend Tiger Woods explained in this 2019 video with Golf TV. His fingers "get trashed" when he practices a lot, he said. The middle finger on his right hand developed a "callous that’s really big, and it splits and it bleeds."

Golf champion Jordan Spieth showed off his calloused hand, including one finger that was cut and bandaged, in a video on "The Dan Patrick Show" in 2019.

You can find golfers’ tape at any store that sells sporting goods. Mueller’s Sports Medicine’s golfer’s tape packaging says the product "helps protect fingers and enhance grip."

We found several other photos of Obama wearing tape on his fingers while golfing in the past, including in this 2015 Daily Mail article, which described Obama as "showing some wear and tear" from golfing, "sporting three separate bandages on the middle and ring fingers of his left hand."

Then-President Barack Obama golfs Aug. 10, 2015, at Vineyard Golf Club, in Edgartown, Mass., on the island of Martha's Vineyard. Tape is visible on a finger on his left hand. (AP)

An Instagram post claims that photos of Barack Obama golfing with bandaged fingers are proof of his involvement in Campbell’s death.

But Massachusetts police said Campbell died in a paddleboard accident, and that his death wasn’t suspicious.

Golfers, including Obama, often tape their fingers to prevent blisters or split calluses. Photos from years past show Obama wearing tape on his hands while golfing. 

We rate the claim False.