Photos depicting Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and actor Jason Statham with noticeably more hair than usual have been circulating on X, Threads and Bluesky. The images are fake: reverse-image searches traced them to earlier photographs in which both men appear with their familiar shaved heads.
In Bezos’ case, the matching original showed him in the same outfit and a similar setting as the edited image. The original photograph, taken in 2023, carried a watermark that helped identify its source. The Statham image was easier to trace: a reverse-image search found watermarked versions of the original paparazzi photographs, taken in 2011.
The images’ creator and original posting dates could not be established. Tests also found no Content Credentials or SynthID markers, so it remains unclear whether AI tools were used to make the edits. The images may have led some social media users to believe the men had undergone hair transplants.
The report notes that hair transplants typically require donor hair from the back or sides of the head, while patients can also experience significant facial swelling during the first week after surgery. Neither detail supports the claim suggested by the circulated images. Wigs and other hair systems are alternatives, but the photographs alone do not establish that either man used one.
The episode reflects how edited celebrity photos can circulate as apparent gossip, and how difficult it can be to identify manipulated images on social media. In this case, tracing the pictures back to their original, unaltered sources revealed the deception.
Sources: The Verge.