An image of a child with their head in a plaster cast that covers much of their face shows the “reality of Gaza”.
This isn’t correct. The picture is from a 2012 blog about a US family, and shows a baby having a mould created for a specialist headband to treat plagiocephaly, known as flat head syndrome.
An image of a baby with their head in a plaster cast is being shared with a misleading claim that it shows the “reality of Gaza”.
The picture, which shows a child with most of their face and head covered by a plaster bandage, has been shared over 4,700 times on Facebook.
The post’s caption says “Reality of G@Za” and “Not a scene from a movie”.
But this image is unconnected to the conflict in Gaza or the Middle East.
Using reverse image search tools Full Fact found a higher quality version of the same picture, as well as other photographs of the same baby, published on a blog about an American family in November 2012.
The baby pictured isn’t being treated for injuries. She was having a plaster cast mould taken of her head in order to create a specialist headband which is designed to treat plagiocephaly, known as ‘flat head syndrome’, something that is relatively common in babies who are a few months old.
During crisis events we often see images and videos circulating online with incorrect or misleading captions, and we have previously fact checked a number of false claims about the conflict in the Middle East.
It’s important to consider whether what you are seeing is genuine before sharing on social media, and our guide to verifying images can help you do this.
This article is part of our work fact checking potentially false pictures, videos and stories on Facebook. You can read more about this—and find out how to report Facebook content—here. For the purposes of that scheme, we’ve rated this claim as false because the picture is of a child in the US having a cast taken for a specialist headband, not a baby in Gaza.
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