This is a video showing Barack Obama in a cell. Social media posts suggest that it is proof that the former US president was in Guantanamo, following an alleged detention in 2019. Is it true?
This is a 19-second video showing the former US President from behind in a prison. Barack Obama appears to be observing the conditions of a cell, complete with a window and a sleeping bag.
Social media posts say that this video proves that the former US leader was arrested “on September 29, 2019,” three years after leaving office as president. “This is a video of Barack Obama in the Guantanamo cell, one of the most dangerous and heavily guarded in the world.”
However, there are several statements in the post description that are factually incorrect. Barack Obama, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2008, has never been arrested. In fact, on the exact date he was arrested, mail He says that he was arrested when the former US president was in Munich, Germany, participating in a conference.
Besides, The video does not show Barack Obama in Guantanamo prison.This is not even a visit by the former Democratic president to those facilities in Cuba.
Instead, it was a visit by Barack Obama on June 30, 2013 to the South African prison on Robben Island, near Cape Town, where former South African President Nelson Mandela was being held.
Agence France-Presse has published a video similar to the one circulating on social media in which Barack Obama visits a cell on Robben Island. The Getty Images image bank also provided a photograph of the moment.
In common, both describe Barack Obama in a South African prison on June 30, 2013, during a visit to pay tribute to Nelson Mandela, who was still alive at the time.
Conclusion
It is not true that Barack Obama was detained at Guantanamo Bay in 2019; in fact, the Democrat was never imprisoned. The video circulating on social media refers to a 2013 visit by the former US president to the South African prison on Robben Island, in honour of Nelson Mandela.
Thus, according to Observer’s classification system, this content is:
MISTAKEN
In Facebook’s ranking system, this content is:
FAKE: Claims about the main content are factually inaccurate. This option usually corresponds to “false” or “mostly false” ratings on fact-checking websites.
NOTE: This content was selected by Observador as part of a fact-checking partnership with Facebook.
Source: Observadora
