DUBAI: A “fake” picture of the Moroccan king holding a pro-Doha slogan has been broadcast by Qatari media and went viral on social sites.
A doctored picture showing King Mohammed VI holding a sash with slogan with the Arabic slogan “you have the world, we have Tamim,” went viral on social media, drawing the ire of Moroccan authorities.
Media reports from Qatar attempted to suggest that King Mohammed’s visit to Qatar was an expression of his backing of Doha’s stance.
It is unclear where this photo first appeared, but one Qatari journalist apologized to the king for tweeting the fake photo. The Qatar-owned Al Jazeera news channel ran the doctored picture in a news bulletin, but later said it was fabricated.
The slogan “you have the world, we have Tamim” was widely chanted by Qataris as a demonstration of their support to Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani.
But the picture with King Mohammed, on a visit to Qatar, apparently holding a sash with the same slogan was fake, Moroccan officials said.
Moroccan media quoted Yassir Zenagui, an adviser to King Mohammad, as saying: “This is a blatant fake; we were surprised by this picture. I was alongside His Majesty the King throughout this visit, and he never held that scarf and nobody has taken a picture of him holding any scarf.”
Morocco is close to the Gulf states but has remained neutral in the row between Qatar and some of its Arab neighbors over Doha’s alleged funding of extremist groups and ties to Iran. Morocco has also offered to host talks between Qatar and the GCC member states.
Qatar issued an official statement saying that the picture was fake. Government spokesman Sheikh Saif bin Ahmed Al-Thani decried the fabricated picture and said that the matter would be probed and the culprits brought to justice.