TMZ Duped by JFK Photo Hoax

Gossip site's "exclusive" JFK photo first published in Chicago's own Playboy...in 1967

An "exclusive" photo that gossip behemoth TMZ.com posted Monday -- and touted as something that "could have altered world events" -- was actually published in the pages of Chicago's own Playboy in 1967.

The photo, showing several naked women and "a man appearing to be" JFK lounging on a yacht, was first published in Playboy's "Charter Yacht Party: How to Have a Ball on the Briny with an Able-Bodied Complement of Ship's Belles."

The original photo was in full color, but TMZ's version was in black and white.

According to TMZ's original post, the photo was "eventually given to a man who owned a car dealership on the East coast. The man kept it in a drawer for years, and would brag to friends he had an image of JFK on a boat with naked women. The man died 10 years ago and one of his sons inherited the photo."

TMZ allegedly hired experts to determine the photo's origin and provenance, which has some observers calling for them to reveal their sources.

See the Smoking Gun for the full reveal.

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