Manipulated photos of the captured Gilboa Prison fugitives were shared on the social media platforms of Palestinian news outlets on Saturday.
Yakoub Mohammed Qadri and Mohammed Ardah’s faces were “photoshopped” to appear as if they had a broad smile on their faces as they were captured by police officers in Nazareth late on Friday night.
— Gaza Now in English (@EnglishGaza) September 10, 2021
Social media quickly caught on to the photos, which have been doctored for reasons that are unclear.
A Twitter account parodying the Mossad was the first to react, writing "Gaza media just FaceApp'ed a smile on the two re-captured Palestinian terrorists and we can't even."
Gaza media just FaceApp'ed a smile on the 2 recaptured Palestinian terrorists and we can't even. pic.twitter.com/b19iZVpyJV
— The Mossad: The Social Media Account (@TheMossadIL) September 10, 2021
The account went on to show the straightforward manner in which the photos were tampered with.
FaceApp to the rescue. https://t.co/EvYaoru96K pic.twitter.com/Z4mAajRvZB
— The Mossad: The Social Media Account (@TheMossadIL) September 11, 2021
Another video clip making waves on Twitter made light of the photoshopped photos, instead using the app to make recaptured terrorist Mohammed Ardah sing along to “I Want to Break Free” by Queen.
This is doing the rounds. One of the fugitives caught last night. Sound on #4down2togo pic.twitter.com/Z7M7ZUYstY
— LTC (R) Peter Lerner (@LTCPeterLerner) September 11, 2021
Israeli media speculated the photos were doctored to encourage the Palestinian public, who have suffered a blow to their morale after celebrating the prisoners’ escape throughout the week.