Rumor Review
Doctored images designed to provoke
Every day doctored images pop up on social media — and often go viral thanks to their provocative content. Take these two examples from the past week:
This image of Donald Trump with his parents, Mary and Fred, is not authentic. The Ku Klux Klan robes were added to a photo that was taken in 1994.
Faked face covering
People are not allowed to cover their faces for a driver’s license photo in Ontario, Canada. The photo seen in the Facebook post — of a woman wearing a face veil — was added to an image of a sample Ontario driver’s license. This rumor isn’t new; it was debunked by Snopes in 2015.
The same doctored image also appeared in 2017 in a false report by a Russian radio station that claimed it was from Brazil.
For teachers
In the first photo (Trump and his parents), what emotions does this claim elicit? How can emotions override rational responses to information?
In the case of the doctored driver’s license photo, why might this false image have recirculated in October 2019? What was happening in Canada at that time? Do you think that it will circulate again? Why or why not?
