Could Bin Laden's New Video Be Fake?

Computer scientist thinks it's re-cut 2004 footage with new audio
By Colleen Barry,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 30, 2007 4:30 AM CDT
Could Bin Laden's New Video Be Fake?
This frame grab taken from an undated video message carrying the logo of al-Qaida's production house as-Sahab and provided Saturday, Sept. 8, 2007 by IntelCenter, a U.S. government contractor monitoring al-Qaida messaging, shows Osama bin Laden speaking in the first new video of the al-Qaida leader...   (Associated Press)

Terror mastermind Osama bin Laden's latest video may have been faked, according to recent analysis. A computer scientist points out that the video freezes whenever bin Laden mentions current events and that the footage is nearly identical to a video released in 2004. It's likely the "new" tape is mostly re-cut video from a previous session with new audio added, he believes.

But US government officials believe the tape is authentic, and a digital forensics expert points out that the video "splices" the computer scientist found could simply have been the result of editing down a longer piece. (More al-Qaeda stories.)

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