Fake Bin Laden Picture Fools Three Senators, Including Scott Brown

Fooled by the gruesome photo of a dead Osama bin Laden that’s been making its way around the internet? So was Senator Scott Brown.

Senator Brown had told Boston’s Fox 25 that he agreed with the White House’s decision to not release the photo so as not to further incite retaliation by extremists, noting that he had seen the image himself:

Later, Brown told the Fox News affiliate that the “photo that I saw and that a lot of other people saw is not authentic.”

CBS News’ website reports that two other senators – Georgia’s Saxby Chambliss and New Hampshire senator Kelly Ayotte – were also duped by the tampered image.

Said Chambliss:

While I was shown a photo by another senator of what appeared to be a deceased Osama bin Laden, I do not know if it was authentic. However, I do believe a photo of the dead al Qaeda leader should be released. Although some may be upset by the image of someone who has been shot in the head, releasing a photo is important to put to rest any conspiracy theories that may arise around the world and to provide for closure.

Moral of the story? Approach news and photos of supposedly deceased celebrities (/monstrous terrorist masterminds) with extreme caution.

h/t Fox 25 via CBSNews.com, Gawker

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