Old image of human rights activist Malcolm X edited to add racist message

What is the claim?

An image of a person wearing a long coat and a black cap, standing next to a poster that reads "No Irish, No Blacks, and No Dogs” is being shared on social media platforms, claiming that it shows “Malcolm X in England in 1965.” An archived version of this post and another can be found here and here. 

The image is also being shared on X (formerly Twitter) with similar claims, archived links of those can be viewed here and here.

Screenshot of viral posts circulating on social media. (Source: X/Facebook/Screenshot/Modified by Logically Facts) 

However, we found that the poster in the image has been digitally altered to add a racist message. 

What did we find? 

A reverse image search of the viral picture led us to this exact image shared on Getty Images. The image is in black and white, and the caption states, “Malcolm X African-American Muslim minister and human rights activist smiles at a "for sale" notice in the window of number 66 Marshall Street in Smethwick during a visit to the Midlands.” It further states that “Malcolm X was assassinated nine days later on his return to the United States. 12th February 1965.” The image source is cited as the British photography library Mirrorpix.

A comparison of the original image and the viral one showed that the now-viral image is a colorized version of the original, and the text on the signboard has been edited. The original is monochrome and shows “for sale” written on the notice.

Comparison between the viral picture and the original.
(Source: X/Getty Images/Screenshot/Markup by Logically Facts)

We also found the unedited image on Alamy Stock Photo and The British Library, which provided similar details.

Furthermore, a separate picture of just the notice seen in the viral image is also available on Getty Images, where we can see the text “For Sale” on the board. The caption states that it was captured on Marshall Street, Smethwick, in the West Midlands of England in 1964, with the source also cited as Mirrorpix.

Malcolm X was an African American leader, a human rights activist, and a prominent figure in the Nation of Islam until 1964. He was assassinated in 1965.

The verdict

The original image shows Malcolm X looking at the poster that reads “for sale,” not one prohibiting “Blacks, Irish, and Dogs.” The notice has been digitally altered in the viral picture to add a racist message. Therefore, we have marked this claim as fake.