Social Media Spreads Fake Video Showing President Donald Trump Revealing Cardboard Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei
Key Takeaways
- Images and a doctored video depicted a life-size cardboard Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei.
- Content spread rapidly across social media, fueling widespread rumors and disbelief.
- The cardboard mocked Iran's newly appointed leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, after his father's death.
What the clip shows
A fabricated video circulated widely on social media that appears to show President Donald Trump parting curtains in the Oval Office to reveal a cardboard cut‑out of Iran’s new leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, with Trump saying “It’s very cool” and “Just went up yesterday.”
“A fake video depicting President Donald Trump showing Fox News' Laura Ingraham a cardboard cut-out of Iran's new leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, has gone viral on social media”
Newsweek identifies the clip as a fake mock‑up of an old Fox News segment and notes it was first posted by an account called Gizmo Memes and credited to BasedRose; The Media Line describes how the photograph of the cardboard figure “traveled faster than any explanation could.”
Virality and spread
The video and image spread rapidly on platforms such as X, racking up millions of views, and were reshared by meme accounts; Newsweek highlights how the clip “has been shared widely on X, racking up millions of views,”
The Media Line explains that the image quickly became treated as evidence by many online users.
Political context
The clip circulated amid high regional tensions and news about Iran’s leadership: Newsweek notes Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei was “appointed on Sunday following the death of his father, former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.”
“A fake video depicting President Donald Trump showing Fox News' Laura Ingraham a cardboard cut-out of Iran's new leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, has gone viral on social media”
The Media Line connects the viral image to wider reporting that the new leader had been reported wounded, though it cautions that many of the more dramatic claims remain unverified.
Misinformation risks
Both sources emphasise the episode as an example of how memes and single images can fuel misinformation during conflict: Newsweek warns that “social media memes are increasingly fooling people and have the capacity to spread misinformation during crucial periods like war.”
The Media Line calls the incident illustrative of the mechanics of modern information warfare in which “a single image, stripped of context, can become the foundation for an entirely fictional narrative.”
Need for verification
Both outlets contrast social media’s speed with journalistic verification: The Media Line stresses “the gap between the logic of social media and the discipline of journalism,” noting that “Serious reporting moves slowly by comparison.”
“A fake video depicting President Donald Trump showing Fox News' Laura Ingraham a cardboard cut-out of Iran's new leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, has gone viral on social media”
Newsweek highlights the importance of verification as memes flood platforms during ongoing U.S., Israeli and Iranian hostilities.
Together they present the clip as a cautionary example of why verification matters.
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