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No, this isn’t a real photo of Ilhan Omar without a head scarf
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- An image appearing to show U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar without her headscarf was altered using a man’s mugshot.
A couple of weeks after U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass, announced in January that she had alopecia, a meanspirited image appeared on Facebook purporting to show another Democratic congresswoman without hair.
"Ilhan Omar hates this picture and she hates when people share it," reads the text above two images of Omar, one in which she’s wearing her usual head scarf and another in which she appears to have two small tufts of hair without it. "Let’s piss her off."
This post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)
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Jeremy Slevin, a spokesman for Omar, told us the image that makes Omar appear as if she were photographed without a headscarf isn’t authentic.
Rather, it seems the image was altered using this photo of a man wanted for a parole violation in South Wales. His distinctive hairline was mocked online after police posted his mugshot on Facebook.
We rate this Facebook post Pants on Fire!
Our Sources
Facebook post, Jan. 30, 2020
WGBH, Rep. Ayanna Pressley discusses alopecia, reveals baldness in deeply personal video, Jan. 16, 2020
Fox News, Fugitive’s receding hair mocked on Facebook, spurring warning from police, Aug. 11, 2020
Telegraph, Mocking suspect’s hairstyle could get you prosecuted, police warn, Aug. 12, 2020
Interview with Jeremy Slevin, senior communications director for Ilhan Omar, Feb. 19, 2020
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No, this isn’t a real photo of Ilhan Omar without a head scarf
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