A morphed photograph of Brazilian footballer Pele is being shared on Facebook and Twitter with a claim that he visited Diego Maradona’s grave to pay his last respects after the football legend passed away due to a heart attack.
CLAIM
The photograph has been shared by former Indian cricketer Bishan Singh Bedi with a caption that read, “Ultimate Farewell...Pele’s bow to Maradona...Peaking Silently..!!”.
Other Twitter and Facebook users also shared the photo with similar captions.
WHAT WE FOUND OUT
We conducted a reverse image of the viral photo and while going through the results, we found a stock photo on iStock which resembled the viral photo.
The stock photo showed a man at a grave holding flowers. The grave didn’t have Maradona’s name on it. We found multiple similarities between the viral photo and the stock photo, starting from the position, to clothes and even the flowers.
However, Pele did mourn Maradona’s death and posted a message for the late football legend on his Twitter handle. “What sad news. I lost a great friend and the world lost a legend. There is still much to be said, but for now, may God give strength to family members. One day, I hope we can play ball together in the sky,” Pele said.
Evidently, a stock image was morphed to falsely claim that Pele visited Diego Maradona’s grave to pay his last respects.
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