With drama over the Trump campaign’s alleged collusion with Russia kicking up a few notches, there’s been a photo circulating on social media that appears to show President Donald Trump, among others, staring intensely at Russian President Vladimir Putin.
But while the image gives the impression that world leaders — Trump included — are essentially rallying around Putin, the photo, presumably from the G20 summit, is reportedly another example of so-called “fake news” run amok.
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As it turns out, the original picture, which is from the Getty collection, was Photoshopped to include Putin. In the real and unedited version, the chair that Russian leader was later seen sitting in is empty.
But in the doctored version, Putin was edited in as a centerpiece, with Trump and others presumably looking intently at him.
See the doctored image below:
A Renaissance painting of our age. pic.twitter.com/G0mAYRl9Mz
— Has Avrat (@hasavrat) July 8, 2017
Now, check out the original version:
Photo on the left is making the rounds on social media. Photo on the right is the original Getty Image. pic.twitter.com/E9aoCI6eCu
— Evan McMurry (@evanmcmurry) July 9, 2017
Mashable also noted that whomever doctored the photo also changed the text on the placard in front of the empty seat from “United States” to “Russian Federation” when they added Putin into the mix.
In the current era dominated by social media, it’s essential to be diligent before clicking “like” or sharing something, especially if it seems iffy or unsourced.
The Trump-Putin photo follows another recent viral bout of fake news involving Polish First Lady Agata Kornhauser-Duda.
Twitter recently lit up with claims that Kornhauser-Duda snubbed President Donald Trump when he reached out to shake her hand and she instead skipped over him and walked over to his wife, First Lady Melanie Trump. But an extended version of the clip shows Kornhauser-Duda shaking the president’s hand immediately after she greets Melania Trump. See all that here.
(H/T: Mashable)