Ohio Senate candidate Josh Mandel released a campaign ad on Tuesday to argue why criticial race theory shouldn't be taught in schools.
The commercial, which dropped on the first day of early voting in the Republican primary, included glimpses of Mandel at Alabama's storiedEdmund Pettus Bridge - site of the "Bloody Sunday" civil rights march.
"Martin Luther King marched right here so skin color wouldn't matter," Mandel says at the site of the 1965 march for voting rights in Selma, where police officers beat and tear gassed demonstrators.
Netizens Notice Mandel's Hands Much Darker Than His Face

As part of his efforts to convince voters that he isn't racist, Mandel also included a photo appearing to show him posing alongside five Black soldiers from one of his two tours in Iraq. "I didn't do two tours in Anbar province, fighting alongside marines of every color to come home and be called a racist."
Watch the video below:
Martin Luther King marched right here so skin color wouldn't matter. pic.twitter.com/kVSU4zKdM1
— Josh Mandel (@JoshMandelOhio) April 5, 2022
However, eagle-eyed netizens noticed there was something wrong with the photo. Mandel's hands were much darker in complexion as compared to his face, leading many to believe his face was photoshopped onto a Black soldier's body.
OMG!!!! Did Josh photoshop his head on a Black soldier's body? Look at the difference in the color of his hands from 2 photos in his video!!!! pic.twitter.com/xlgfOa9ib9
— Leslie (@leslierig) April 5, 2022
Did Josh Mandel forget to photoshop his hands when he put this photo in his new ad pic.twitter.com/fsnO7O7j7I
— Brett Meiselas (@BMeiselas) April 5, 2022
Holy shit.
— chris evans (@notcapnamerica) April 6, 2022
To "prove" he isn't racist — Ohio U.S. Senate candidate @JoshMandelOhio put a photo of himself standing with black soldiers in his latest campaign ad.
Problem is he forgot to Photoshop the hands that clearly show he put his face on the body of a black soldier pic.twitter.com/DwzSMTzYNn
Mandel's Campaign Claims a 'Darkening Filter' was Used
Politico reporter Natalie Allison tweeted that Mandel's campaign told her a "darkening filter" was used on the ad. She also shared the original photo for comparison.
You folks asked if Josh Mandel's campaign photoshopped his head onto a Black man, and I looked for answers. They did not, the campaign says. It appears a darkening filter was used on the ad. Here's the original photo for comparison. pic.twitter.com/7kz5nYseje
— Natalie Allison (@natalie_allison) April 5, 2022
Mandel Schooled by MLK's Daughter on Her Father's Legacy
After posting the campaign ad, in another tweet, Mandel thanked Bernice King and the King Center, a foundation named after the civil rights leader, "for motivating me to film this ad."
"Josh: Regretfully, I do not believe that I or @TheKingCenter legitimately motivated you to film this ad, as it is in opposition to nonviolence and to much of what my father taught," Bernice King replied on Twitter. "I encourage you to study my father/nonviolence in full."
She included a link to a nonviolence training offered by the center.
Mandel replied to her tweet, telling her to "study your history better."
"Your father knew the importance of the Second Amendment when he tried to exercise his right to self-defense and was wrongly denied a gun permit by anti-gun racists," said Mandel.
Your father knew the importance of the Second Amendment when he tried to exercise his right to self-defense and was wrongly denied a gun permit by anti-gun racists.
— Josh Mandel (@JoshMandelOhio) April 5, 2022
Firearms ≠violence. Study your history better @BerniceKing. https://t.co/DRWG6NELt9