A doctored photograph appears to show Republican Pennsylvania Senate nominee Mehmet Oz kissing former President Donald Trump’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. But that never happened. Let’s look at the facts.
NewsLit takeaway
“Be on your toes if it’s too on the nose” is a good motto to live by online.
Photographs that strongly confirm a preconceived belief are often the ones that need to be further examined. This photo of Dr. Oz — who has been accused by critics of being reliant on former President Trump’s support — seems to perfectly encapsulate that preconceived belief. People who share this political opinion may readily believe this photograph is genuine. This is an example of confirmation bias in action, or the tendency to uncritically accept new “evidence” that supports a previously held opinion.
Fact-checkers from AFP Fact Check, Reuters and The Associated Press investigated this photo using a reverse image search and discovered that this viral picture was a composite image, or an image comprised of two or more photos. Here’s a brief tutorial on how to perform a reverse image search.
- “Posts spread edited photo of Oz on Hollywood Walk of Fame” (The Associated Press).
- “Image of ‘Dr Oz’ kissing Trump Hollywood star is manipulated” (Bill McCarthy, AFP Fact Check).
- “Fact Check-Photo of Dr. Oz kissing Trump’s Hollywood star is digitally altered” (Reuters Fact Check).
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