Moroccan activists rode a rage wave denouncing an edited image showing King Mohammed VI holding a sash with the Arabic slogan “you have the world, we have Tamim,” went viral on social media.
The fabricated footage was spread across Qatari social media, aimed at failing King Mohammad’s visit to Qatar and change public opinion.
The move was meant to promote that the Moroccan King sided with Doha’s regional stance.
Among those who promoted the picture were Qatari journalist Abdullah Al-Nubah, editor of the Qatari newspaper Al-Arab, editor of Al-Sharq newspaper Jaber Al-Harami, Al-Jazeera anchor Faisal Al Qassem and others.
However, 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.
The doctored footage was published by under the slogan "Khawwah, Khawwah"—a Moroccan expression هn local dialect meaning "brothers."
Top activists were later forced to delete the photo from their pages.
Spreading the image caused a Moroccan backlash, meanwhile King Mohammed VI adviser Yassir al-Zanaki denied its authenticity accusing it as a political sham.
"I was next to His Majesty the King during his travels as part of this visit and never took any pictures or carried any sash," Zanaki told the news website "LE360".
“This is a blatant fake; we were surprised by this picture,” he added.
Morocco is close to the Gulf states but remained neutral in the row between Qatar and its Arab neighbors over Doha’s funding of extremist groups and ties to Iran. Morocco has also offered to host talks between Qatar and the Gulf Cooperation Council member states.
