A viral image shows a portrait of Dr. Anthony Fauci hanging on the wall of Fauci's office. While the portion of this image showing the portrait is real, other aspects of this viral image were manipulated.
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On Jan. 19, 2022, an image supposedly showing Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, sitting in his office "surrounded" by images of himself.
This is a genuine image of Fauci in his office and is a screenshot from the movie "Fauci" currently available on Disney Plus. This scene can be glimpsed around the 1:25:39 mark.
The three red circles in this image highlight a portrait, a drawing, and a photograph of Fauci. While we haven't been able to find too much information about the drawing and the photograph — it appears the photograph at the far right accompanies an award — the portrait was painted by musician Joan Baez.
In August 2020, Baez posted a picture of her Fauci portrait on Facebook, along with a message stating that she created the painting in order to honor Fauci for all he is "doing for us and for he world."
Baez wrote:
Dear Dr. Fauci,
I’ve painted your portrait to honor you and all you are doing for us and for the world. It will be a part of my second art exhibit of “Mischief Makers,” paintings of people who have made meaningful social change without the use of violence.
I don’t imagine you’ve ever thought of it this way, but you are engaging in nonviolent resistance every time you stand in front of the cameras and attempt to educate the public on how to survive the Covid-19 pandemic. You cheerfully continue your task, surrounded by people who are dreaming up every way possible to discredit you and what you bring to us: common sense, scientific facts, some warmth, a bit of humor, and towering moral fortitude. Telling the truth is out of favor with the rich and powerful, particularly these days. You speak truth to their dominion. You take a big risk in doing so.
Corragio, Dr. Anthony Fauci!
This artwork was part of Baez's "Mischief Makers" exhibit, a series that also included portraits of Patti Smith, Coretta Scott King, Gandhi, Bob Dylan, John Lewis, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Kamala Harris, among many others. While Baez and Fauci have struck up a friendship in the wake of this portrait's release, it's unclear if the portrait in Fauci's office is the original, or a reproduction.
We haven't been able to determine much about the other two images. The drawing near the window appears to show him during an infamous "facepalm" moment after former President Donald Trump mentioned the "deep state" during a news conference. The photograph on the right appears to be accompanied by an award, but it's difficult to discern which one.
While the above-displayed picture is real, an edited version of it was also circulated online. In the exaggerated version, the image on Fauci's screen is replaced with another image of Fauci.
Sources
“‘Fauci,’ The Feature Documentary From National Geographic Documentary Films, Starts Streaming On Disney+ On October 6.” DMED Media, https://dmedmedia.disney.com/news/disney-plus-national-geographic-fauci-documentary-streaming-october-6. Accessed 20 Jan. 2022.
“In ‘Fauci,’ A Big-Screen Portrait of a Pandemic Superstar.” WTTW News, https://news.wttw.com/2021/09/12/fauci-big-screen-portrait-pandemic-superstar. Accessed 20 Jan. 2022.
Lejeune, Tristan. “Joan Baez Discusses Her ‘mutual Fanship’ with Fauci.” TheHill, 25 May 2021, https://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/in-the-know/555342-joan-baez-discusses-her-mutual-fanship-with-fauci.
“Top Health Expert Appears to Do Face Palm after Trump Mentioned ‘deep State’ during Coronavirus Briefing.” The Independent, 21 Mar. 2020, https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/coronavirus-trump-briefing-dr-anthony-fauci-face-palm-a9416111.html.