Fact Check: Photo Shows Wounded Mussolini After 1926 Assassination Attempt?

Claim:

A photo shared online in late August 2024 showed fascist dictator and former Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini after his attempted assassination in 1926.

Rating:

True ( About this rating? )

Context:

The image was real but appeared to be slightly edited — the original version featured a small imperfection on Mussolini's clothing that was later retouched.

In late August 2024, a photograph circulated on social media purportedly showing fascist dictator and former Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini shortly after his attempted assassination in Rome by Violet Gibson of Ireland in 1926.

One Reddit user shared the image with the caption: "First pic of Mussolini after an assassination attempt during a rally. The bullet grazed his nose."

First pic of Mussolini after an assassination attempt during a rally. The bullet grazed his nose
by u/Brutal_Deluxe_ in pics

One Facebook user wrote : "This looks suspiciously photo shopped..." and on X , another user shared a slightly different version of the photograph, stating: "The gods of history are having a good laugh. Here is Mussolini with a bandage on his nose after an assassination attempt in 1926."

In short, because the in-question photograph indeed showed Mussolini after his attempted assassination in 1926, we rated this claim as "True." However, the image being shared appeared to be slightly edited, as the original version featured a small imperfection on Mussolini's clothing.

TinEye reverse image-search results indicated that a minor inconsistency in the original photograph was retouched in later versions of the image to present a more polished appearance (see image below). Such edits are not uncommon in historical photos and are often made to enhance the subject's portrayal or to correct minor flaws in the photograph.

(TinEye)

The picture of Mussolini was uploaded to Wikimedia Commons with a caption in Italian stating it showed Mussolini with a wound on his nose and it was captured after the attempted assassination by Gibson. The source of the photo was cited as a 2021 article on the Italian news magazine The Vision, though it provided no further details regarding the image's origins.

Additionally, the same photograph featured on the cover of the book "Giocatori d'azzardo" by Virman Cusenza.

(www.ibs.it)

Cover credits (translated from Italian) in a copy of the book noted that it depicted Mussolini with a nose wound after the attack by Violet Gibson, alongside Telesio Interlandi in 1926. Similarly, an article published by Italian newspaper La Repubblica indicated that the person standing next to Mussolini was Telesio Interlandi , a leading fascist journalist and writer.

The credits in the "Giocatori d'azzardo" book also indicated that the photo was sourced from the website of the Italian newspaper L'Unità. In fact, TinEye reverse image-search results confirmed the photo was indeed once available at the website of L'Unità, but the page was no longer online, as of this writing.

(TinEye)

Moreover, Serbian newspaper Илустровани Лист ( Ilustrovani List ) also featured the picture of a wounded Mussolini in a 1926 edition of its publication on page 13.

(digitalna.nb.rs)

A similar image featuring the Italian dictator with a bandaged nose was also available on Getty Images :

(Getty Images)

The image's Getty description read:

Italian Premier Benito Mussolini (1883 - 1945) leaving for Tripoli, 13th May 1926. His nose is bandaged after an assassination attempt on 26th April by Violet Gibson, who shot him with a revolver at close range.

In November 2022, Snopes also investigated whether Mussolini once said: "When I said I supported equal voting rights, I meant men shouldn't vote either," and in June 1999 we investigated claims that Mussolini made the trains run on time.

Sources:

author, Unknown authorUnknown. Italiano:  Immagine Di Benito Mussolini Ferito al Naso, Dopo l'attentato Subito Da Violet Gibson a Roma Nel 1926. 8 Apr. 1926. https://thevision.com/cultura/violet-gibson/, Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mussolini_ferito_2.webp.

Benito Mussolini | Biography, Definition, Facts, Rise, & Death | Britannica. 23 Aug. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Benito-Mussolini .

Giocatori d'azzardo. Storia di Enzo Paroli, l'antifascista che salvò il giornalista d Mussolini - Virman Cusenza - Libro - Mondadori - Le scie. Nuova serie | IBS. https://www.ibs.it/giocatori-d-azzardo-storia-di-libro-virman-cusenza/e/9788804745945 . Accessed 27 Aug. 2024.

"Italian Premier Benito Mussolini Leaving for Tripoli, 13th May 1926...." Getty Images, 4 Jan. 2005, https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/italian-premier-benito-mussolini-leaving-for-tripoli-13th-news-photo/51912465 .

Mikkelson, David. "Mussolini and On-Time Trains." Snopes, 13 June 1999, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/loco-motive/ .

Palma, Bethania. "Did Mussolini Say This About Equal Voting Rights?" Snopes, 4 Nov. 2022, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/mussolini-equal-voting-rights/ .

"Telesio Interlandi." Oxford Reference, https://doi.org/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100006858 . Accessed 27 Aug. 2024.

"Telesio Interlandi, l'antisemita risarcito dall'Italia repubblicana: un'altra storia del 'fascismo eterno.'" la Repubblica, 25 Dec. 2022, https://palermo.repubblica.it/commenti/2022/12/25/news/telesio_interlandi_fascismo_risarcimento_antisemitismo_giornali-380397440/ .

"---." la Repubblica, 25 Dec. 2022, https://palermo.repubblica.it/commenti/2022/12/25/news/telesio_interlandi_fascismo_risarcimento_antisemitismo_giornali-380397440/ .

"Violet Albina Gibson. La storia della nobildonna irlandese che sparò a Mussolini." THE VISION, 7 Apr. 2021, https://thevision.com/cultura/violet-gibson/ .