Home   News   National   Article

Fact check: Image of Sadiq Khan has been cropped


By PA News



A different image from the same speech shows Mr Khan with his thumb stretched out (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

A former Conservative London mayoral candidate has shared an image of London mayor Sadiq Khan with his right arm outstretched.

The post, which appears to be a joke, asked if Mr Khan was “doing a dreadful salute? Or actually is it him acknowledging a crowd”.

Mr Khan was not doing a salute in the photo in question. The image crops out most of his hand. In the original photograph he can be seen giving a thumbs up.

A reverse image search of the photograph shows that it was taken in 2017 at the Labour Party Conference in Brighton.

The image on social media does not show all of Mr Khan’s hand, which means that viewers cannot see the mayor’s thumb.

In the fuller photo Mr Khan’s thumb is out, and the rest of his fingers are pressed flat against his palm. The fingers are not outstretched as they would be in a Nazi-style salute. Instead Mr Khan is doing a thumbs-up sign, although his thumb is pointed sideways.

The social media post mentions US billionaire Elon Musk, who on Monday January 20 lifted his arm in motion which bore a resemblance to a Nazi salute.

Mr Musk has mocked those who have drawn a link between his action and Nazi salutes.

Post on X (archived)

Reverse image search

Original photograph on Getty Images (archived)

Video of Elon Musk (archived post and video)

Post on X by Elon Musk (archived)

Second post on X by Elon Musk (archived)

Do you want to respond to this article? If so, click here to submit your thoughts and they may be published in print.


This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies - Learn More