# How long until a real Osama bin Laden death photo is leaked? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 4, 2011, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-until-a-real-osama-bin-laden-death-photo-is-leaked/580745 "2011-05-04T20:45:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-until-a-real-osama-bin-laden-death-photo-is-leaked/580745/1 "2011-05-04T20:45:02Z")
The White House announced today that it wouldn’t be releasing a photo of the corpse of Osama bin Laden. But IMHO the fact that many persons (White House staffers, Congressmen, armed service personnel) have already seen the pictures, and with morbid curiosity being what it is, it’s only a matter of time before somebody leaks a copy of the picture. If it happens, how long do you think that process will take? ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-until-a-real-osama-bin-laden-death-photo-is-leaked/580745/2 "2011-05-04T20:57:16Z")
I think we will see one within a month. Sure would be better from an official channel though. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-until-a-real-osama-bin-laden-death-photo-is-leaked/580745/3 "2011-05-04T22:34:11Z")
I kinda hope that’s the official strategy…“No, will not release the photos, because that would be disrespectful and tastl…oh, no, someone leaked it. I wonder how that happened. Damn WikiLeaks.” ---
**Author:** ![Shark\_Sandwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f04885/32.png) [@Shark\_Sandwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shark_Sandwich)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-until-a-real-osama-bin-laden-death-photo-is-leaked/580745/4 "2011-05-05T01:13:57Z")
> [@Ranchoth](#): > > I kinda hope that’s the official strategy…“No, will not release the photos, because that would be disrespectful and tastl…oh, no, someone leaked it. I wonder how that happened. Damn WikiLeaks.” My thoughts exactly. Obama will get to take the moral high ground, and the world will get their snuff photo. Win-win. ---
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-until-a-real-osama-bin-laden-death-photo-is-leaked/580745/5 "2011-05-05T07:45:42Z")
I’m guessing that it will be coincidentally right around the time the Carl Vinson puts into a port with decent cellphone service. Declan ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-until-a-real-osama-bin-laden-death-photo-is-leaked/580745/6 "2011-05-05T17:08:59Z")
> [@Declan](#): > > I’m guessing that it will be coincidentally right around the time the Carl Vinson puts into a port with decent cellphone service. > > Declan I heard that congress was passing around pictures already. If it’s a real one, I’d suspect them of leaking before the military. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-until-a-real-osama-bin-laden-death-photo-is-leaked/580745/7 "2011-05-05T17:13:02Z")
I demand to see OBL’s birth certificate! He can’t be dead if you can’t even prove he was born! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-until-a-real-osama-bin-laden-death-photo-is-leaked/580745/8 "2011-05-05T17:18:49Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > I heard that congress was passing around pictures already. If it’s a real one, I’d suspect them of leaking before the military. Chuck Todd on NBC this morning that the congressmen have “backed off” their statements of having seen photos. So either they were lying or are lying now. What else is new? :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-until-a-real-osama-bin-laden-death-photo-is-leaked/580745/9 "2011-05-05T17:32:09Z")
Worth considering, perhaps: > **[Bloody, fake photos of bin Laden go global](https://www.denverpost.com/2011/05/04/bloody-fake-photos-of-bin-laden-go-global/)** > > Bloody, fake photos of bin Laden go global (Quite a few similar things are in the “Trending Now” section at Yahoo!) ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-until-a-real-osama-bin-laden-death-photo-is-leaked/580745/10 "2011-05-05T17:42:32Z")
It was on my Facebook feed two days ago. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-until-a-real-osama-bin-laden-death-photo-is-leaked/580745/11 "2011-05-05T17:43:28Z")
> [@control-z](#): > > Chuck Todd on NBC this morning that the congressmen have “backed off” their statements of having seen photos. So either they were lying or are lying now. What else is new? :rolleyes: Several senators thought they had seen it but others said no, they hadn’t. In investigating the discrepancy it was discovered the picture a few had seen was in fact the “fake Osama photo”, hence the confusion and change in answer. ---
**Author:** ![JKilez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e5b9ba/32.png) [@JKilez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKilez)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2011, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-until-a-real-osama-bin-laden-death-photo-is-leaked/580745/12 "2011-05-07T00:57:53Z")
Don’t they have to really _ **kill** _ him before releasing a real death photo? That may take years. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2011, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-until-a-real-osama-bin-laden-death-photo-is-leaked/580745/13 "2011-05-07T17:17:35Z")
Well, they did get a bunch of his personal home videos including one of him watching himself on TV. [This article](http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110507/ap_on_re_us/us_bin_laden_videos) says they plan to use these videos to paint him in a negative light to his supporters, so we’ll probably see them at some point. What I thought was hilarious though was the last line of the article: > [@](#): > > They [sp] video include outtakes of his propaganda films and, taken together, portray him as someone obsessed with his own image and how he is portrayed to the world. You mean… exactly like a politician?