"Obama/Moloch" Photo: A Closer Look

YOU'VE PROBABLY SEEN this picture (above) by now. It's causing a great deal of online excitement, because lots of people think it shows former president Barack Obama disguised as Moloch. Or as the Devil himself. Or something. Well, anyway, it's thought to be sinister, whatever it shows.

But does it actually show Obama? And if so, what does that tell us?

Let's find out.

Obama, Overlaid

THE FIRST THING to do is find a known photo of the real Obama, taken at the right angle to fit with the "mystery photo." I chose the photo you can see pictured right. There might be a better one for all I know. The pic I'm using is so old that it shows him before the stress of eight years in the White House sent him prematurely grey!

Then you overlay the two, and alter the transparency of the top image to see how well the features line up. When you do that, the results are fairly startling.

Have a look - first the opacity of the known Obama pic is reduced to 50% ("A"), then lowered to 25% ("B"), and finally 15% ("C"). It's a pretty good match! See for yourself:

The long chin, the roundness of those elevated cheeks, and the long vertical creases from the cheeks to the chin -- all persuasive. Whoever it is behind that mask, the bits we can see show a remarkable resemblance to the clearly-exaggerated smirk in the known Obama pic. For my money, yes, it looks like this could very well be Obama in some sort of disguise. But...

... So What?

THIS IS THE MORE ambitious bit about the claims being attached to the picture. We don't know when or where it was taken. If it was taken during any kind of sinister event at all, it's hard to believe that the guy next to "Obama" just turned up in a baseball jacket with his hair slicked back. It's even harder to believe that someone would be allowed to photograph the entire thing. You know, as you do, when you've infiltrated a gathering of the Satanic elite.

The theory about the guy on the left of the picture is that he's one of Obama's old pals from Congress, Alabaman Representative Artur Davis. That's probably stretching it a bit, in my opinion. See the photo comparison (right).

On a straight pass/fail basis, the "Obama" figure passes but the "Davis" figure flunks it. The most interesting thing about the "Davis" figure is that his jacket has the word "Chicago" emblazoned across it, and of course that's Obama's old stamping ground.

And let's be honest, "Obama's" outfit is more Liberace than Lucifer. Sequins, tassels, beads... the Devil may have the best tunes, but it appears he might not have a personal stylist. Stand too close to a firey sacrifice in that sort of get-up, and you'll soon be needing an ambulance.

Conclusions

OVERALL, MY OPINION is that this could easily be Obama - but it's hard to say for sure.

On the other hand, is it Obama dressed as Moloch (or the Devil, or what-have-you) for some sinister reason?

That's a bit less likely, to put it mildly. The silly grin on the face of the guy standing next to the diamonte-bedecked devil-figure suggests that it's nothing more than a carnival masquerade, perhaps some kind of Mardi Gras celebration.

⦿ The above's just my opinion -- what do YOU think about this photo?

All Rights Reserved, 17 June 2018

Addendum (18 June 2018): The inevitable debunk has arrived: apparently the "Moloch" photo shows this reveller (16th photo down), at Burning Man 2016. But I bet we've not heard the last of this one!