Minneapolis Bob Dylan Mural Falsely Altered to Depict Iran’s Supreme Leader
The Viral Claim
In mid-January 2026, an image began circulating online claiming that a well-known Bob Dylan mural in downtown Minneapolis[1] had been painted over and replaced with a portrait of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.[2] The altered image shows Khamenei’s profile occupying the space where Dylan’s face should be, alongside an added message reading “Iran, please help us,” placed beneath Dylan’s famous lyric, “The times they are a-changin’.” The visual was framed as a political statement supposedly reflecting unrest in the United States and an appeal for foreign intervention.
The claim spread rapidly across social media,[3] boosted by the plausibility that public art might be altered during periods of protest or political tension. However, CyberPoe’s verification confirms that the image is manipulated and does not reflect reality on the ground in Minneapolis.
The Real Mural and Its History
The mural in question is a prominent tribute to Bob Dylan, one of Minnesota’s most celebrated cultural figures. It is located on Hennepin Avenue in downtown Minneapolis and was painted in 2015 by renowned Brazilian street artist Eduardo Kobra.[1] The artwork depicts Dylan at various stages of his life, rendered in Kobra’s signature colorful, geometric style.[2] Dylan, a Nobel Prize laureate in literature, has long been associated with social change through his music, making the mural an important cultural landmark in the city.
According to Hennepin Arts and documentation on Kobra’s own social media, the mural has remained intact since its completion. There is no record of it being altered to depict any political figure, Iranian or otherwise.
Source of the Altered Image
CyberPoe traced the manipulated image to an earlier photograph of the mural published online as far back as 2021. That original image shows the mural exactly as intended, with no references to Iran, no foreign political messaging, and no alterations to Dylan’s likeness. The viral version circulating in January 2026 is a digitally edited composite that replaces Dylan’s face with that of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and inserts additional text that was never present on the wall. To further verify the claim, journalists physically visited the mural site in Minneapolis on January 29, 2026. Photographs taken on location show the mural unchanged, depicting Bob Dylan in multiple phases of his career, with no evidence of paint-over, vandalism, or political messaging related to Iran.
Why the Claim Is False
There are several clear indicators that the viral image is not authentic. First, no credible local reporting or city documentation supports the idea that such a dramatic alteration took place. Public murals of this scale would immediately attract attention, media coverage, and responses from city authorities or the artist. None occurred. Second, the stylistic mismatch between Kobra’s established artistic approach and the inserted imagery is evident. The added portrait and text do not align with the mural’s original composition or technique. Finally, direct, on-site verification confirms the mural remains unchanged.
Why This Matters
Digitally altered images of public spaces are increasingly used to push political narratives, often exploiting existing tensions to manufacture symbolic moments that never happened. In this case, the fake mural suggests a collapse of national confidence and an appeal to a foreign power, a narrative with obvious geopolitical implications. Allowing such fabrications to circulate unchecked distorts public perception and undermines trust in visual evidence.
CyberPoe Verdict
The image claiming that the Bob Dylan mural in Minneapolis was repainted to depict Iran’s Supreme Leader is digitally altered. The mural has not been changed and continues to portray Bob Dylan as originally painted in 2015.
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