A viral photo of a restaurant sign featuring an aggressive anti-mask statement isn’t authentic. Let’s take a look at the facts.
NewsLit takeaway
Provocative signs are optimized to go viral on social media; they’re pithy, visual and easy to process at a glance. But they’re also often fake. Almost any text in photos is easy to manipulate using basic editing software, but the altered photo in this example was particularly simple to make using a fake sign generator website. This same photo — with the exact same background and details — can be found online with a variety of different messages, including a derogatory anti-Muslim statement and a message mocking then-President Donald Trump.
- “Fact check: Anti-mask message on barbeque joint sign result of altered image” (Emiliano Tahui Gómez, USA Today).
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