TORONTO -- In politics, photographs hold power. But what happens when political parties begin manipulating photographs?
That鈥檚 the predicament Green Party Leader Elizabeth May finds herself in after Postmedia reported that a photo of her holding a cup, which was published on her party鈥檚 website, was edited to add an environmentally-friendly metal straw and the Green Party鈥檚 logo.
May said she was 鈥渃ompletely shocked鈥 to learn that one of her staff 鈥 who she described as 鈥渨ell-meaning鈥 -- edited the image without her knowledge.
鈥淎nd I'm sorry for the staff person that did it. I don't want to call them stupid on television, but there was nothing there to hide. So why Photoshop it? I have no idea. If they're going to Photoshop, couldn't they do something with my face and make it look a little younger?" she told 麻豆影视 Atlantic Tuesday during a trip to the Maritimes.
Asked whether she would apologize for the photo that some may see as political hypocrisy, May said the incident was not hypocritical because, in the original image, she is holding a compostable cup with no straw.
鈥淚'm very conscientious about this. It won't surprise you to know I never take a plastic drinking water bottle, I carry my own mug, I carry my own utensils on airplanes so I never take a single-use plastic item. So it's bizarre that the notion of fakery should stretch to someone who doesn't fake anything."
The decision to add a metal straw to an already compostable cup, May said, was someone 鈥渏ust being really stupid, but it wasn鈥檛 fakery.鈥
The edited image was condemned by NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, who called the incident 鈥渢roubling.鈥
鈥淧eople need to know that they can rely on the information that鈥檚 being spread so they can make an informed decision,鈥 Singh said Tuesday when asked about the incident during a campaign stop in Metro Vancouver.
Experts say the photograph is clearly misleading and falls short of the standard of truth. Gordon Pennycook, an assistant professor at the University of Regina who studies fake news, said there is no excuse for a political party to doctor photos.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a bit tone-deaf considering the problems with misinformation that we鈥檙e having,鈥 Pennycook told CTVNews.ca.
A metal straw might not seem like a big deal. But the problem has everything to do with viewers鈥 expectations, Pennycook said. When most people see an advertisement, they assume that there鈥檚 some level of editing involved.
But viewers don鈥檛 expect the same from politicians.
鈥淓diting a photo that people ostensibly don鈥檛 think would be edited is misleading,鈥 he said.
Even so, Pennycook called the straw photo 鈥渁 very modest form of deception鈥 and said he doesn鈥檛 think voters will care.
鈥淚t鈥檚 an interesting case study in a news story. But I would be surprised if it changes a single person鈥檚 vote come election time,鈥 he said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 a pretty silly thing to base your vote on.鈥
It鈥檚 rare for a political party to be caught doctoring a photo. But out-of-context photos shared by people with strong political motivations is common, according to Matthew Johnson, director of education for MediaSmarts, a Canadian not-for-profit that provides resources on digital and media literacy.
鈥淲e haven鈥檛 seen too many examples of doctored photos in this election, but certainly photos are an issue in almost every election. And we know as well that photos are a major form on online misinformation,鈥 Johnson said.
One recent example was a photo of trash on the ground that suggested climate strikers left the rubbish following a protest. In fact, the photo was the aftermath of a rock concert.
Another recent example was a photo of Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau wearing a white headdress that included a fake quote suggesting that he was converting to Islam. He isn鈥檛. The photo actually showed Trudeau dressed as the pilot from Le Petit Prince, a French children鈥檚 book, while trick-or-treating with his son, Hadrien, in 2016.
When political disinformation emerges, it has a 鈥渃orrosive鈥 effect on voters, Johnson said.
鈥淎ny time we do have misinformation spreading as truth, even if it is innocent misinformation, then it makes it harder for us to know what is true and it leads to an electorate that is cynical instead of healthily skeptical,鈥 he said.
Voters who share political news online should not assume that, just because something comes from a political party, that it meets the threshold of truth, Johnson said.
鈥淰oters need to be cautious of information from all sources,鈥 he said.
MediaSmarts offers online tools to help social media users spot photos that are doctored or taken out of context. Johnson said that anyone sharing stories online should take it upon themselves to conduct a quick fact check or reverse image search before hitting 鈥渟hare.鈥
鈥淢ost of the time, checking will not take 30 seconds. Less than a minute at the most,鈥 he said.
鈥淏ut it is essential that before we share anything we confirm that it鈥檚 true, because in our networked media environment, we鈥檙e not just consumers of news anymore -- we鈥檙e broadcasters too.鈥
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