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A collage comparing two images — one that appears to show a rock formation in Bulgaria and another of a near-identical formation in a purported original NASA photo of Mars — has been shared hundreds of times on Facebook since 2014. The image comparison, however, is a hoax; NASA stated that the purported Mars photo was not taken by the US space agency. The image was posted to a Facebook group called Collective Action Against Bill Gates. We Wont [sic] Be POISONED!!! here on February 4, 2021. A screenshot of the Facebook post, taken January 9, 2020. The image features a photo comparison of two images. The bottom photo shows what appears to be the site of a rock formation and includes superimposed text that reads: Pobitite [sic] Kamani, Bulgaria. The top photo shows an identical rock formation, but in a red hue and with a black background. The superimposed text over the top image reads: Original NASA photo of MARS. The image comparison was also shared hundreds of times on Facebook here , here and here . The image comparison, however, was shared alongside a false claim. NASA told AFP in a February 6 email the top image in the purported comparison is not a NASA photo of Mars. The image is also not listed on NASA’s publicly available Mars Media Library as seen here . A reverse image search of the bottom photo in the image comparison found that it does appear to show a rock formation in Pobiti Kamani, which is a protected geological site in Bulgaria. The photo was published on travel blogs about Pobiti Kamani here and here . The rock formation matches those seen here in a YouTube video promoting tourism at Pobiti Kamani and here on the site’s Tripadvisor page. Google Maps also shows similar rock forms at the Pobiti Kamani site; seen in the 360 degree view below:
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