Crass images of US Congresswoman Lauren Boebert are digitally manipulated
- This article is more than one year old.
- Published on October 14, 2022 at 19:28
- 3 min read
- By Bill MCCARTHY, AFP USA
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"Family values," says an October 8, 2022 tweet sharing one such image.
The image shows a man holding a wad of cash beside Boebert as her hand hovers in front of his groin, with a horse and a campaign sign in the background. The tweet sharing it received more than 1,100 retweets and 2,500 likes, duping numerous social media users who left comments indicating they thought it was real.
But the photo has been digitally altered; reverse image searches show the Republican congresswoman from Colorado with her hand out of view in the original version.
Boebert posted the unedited picture on social media, writing October 7 on Twitter that it was taken in La Junta, Colorado. Her press office confirmed in a statement emailed to AFP that the other version circulating online has been doctored.
Such a great time in La Junta!
— Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert) October 7, 2022
I’m excited Otero County was brought into Colorado’s 3rd District.
I look forward to serving you all in the next Congress! pic.twitter.com/MLNQhCWirH
"This is just another disgusting lie that shows the left will do anything to falsely smear a conservative champion like Rep. Boebert," her office said.
A similar image shared on Twitter appears to show Boebert making the same gesture while posing with US Senator Ted Cruz, a Republican from Texas. The photo supposedly depicts Boebert wearing a hat that says $45 while Cruz holds a stack of money.
But the picture of Boebert with Cruz has also been edited. The original image, which Boebert shared on Twitter in January 2021, shows her hand at her side.
Ted Cruz is an American hero and patriot! On January 6, we’re both going to be fighting for freedom! pic.twitter.com/cwyBfJEhex
— Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert) January 2, 2021
Both images were created by a graphic artist who goes by "Tom Adelsbach" on Facebook and has had several Twitter accounts with handles that sound like the word "politics." One example is @PaulLeeDicks, which was watermarked on the image of Boebert with the man and the horse.
In a direct message from that account, the artist confirmed to AFP that he created both doctored images of Boebert.
"Yes, both were parodies (that's ALL I do)," he said.
The artist said he deleted a tweet sharing the image of Boebert with the man and the horse because some commenters believed it was real. His October 8 Facebook post with the image was updated to say "parody," according to the post's edit history.
AFP has debunked misinformation arising from the same artist's creations here and here.
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