Photoshopping of women into all-male tech photo sparks backlash
An unofficial group picture was taken, and someone decided the optics needed adjusting—at the expense of authenticity. Online sleuths deduced the manipulation, and a PR crisis erupted.
Photoshop won’t prevent a PR backlash—and manipulating photos can be perceived as undermining public trust.
The decision to add two women into a group photo of tech luminaries—all men—at an industry gathering in Italy might have seemed like a good idea. However, an intrepid reporter and social media users were able to deduce the manipulation.
The incident serves as a reminder to communicators that consumers want the truth—and violating that trust will release the social media hounds. It also reveals the limits of technology to fool the public.
How did GQ come to publish the doctored photo in the first place?
On Monday, I read the GQ story about the tech trip to Cucinelli’s village in Solomeo, Italy, and found the picture to be a bit suspicious. […]
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Tags: authenticity, diversity, photoshop, technology
