Ivanka Trump accused of Photoshopping Taj Mahal photos
President's daughter called monument 'awe-inspiring'
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.As the Trump family concludes their visit to India, the president’s daughter is facing accusations of Photoshopping her photos.
On Monday, Ivanka shared a photo of herself posing in front of the otherwise empty Taj Mahal.
“The grandeur and beauty of the Taj Mahal is awe-inspiring,” Ivanka captioned a series of the photos of the mausoleum.
However, shortly after sharing the pictures, Slate questioned whether the 38-year-old had edited the first photo of the album - as the area near Ivanka’s left arm and toso “appears to be much more in focus than the water on either side of her”.
“Could this possibly be some sloppy Photoshopping?” the outlet questioned. “The irregularity in definition led some of the Slate staff to suspect that someone had inserted or enlarged the gap in Ivanka’s picture, or otherwise messed around with the photo in some way, a thing many people do on Instagram to make themselves look thinner.
“But would Ivanka really go through such trouble for a single photo in a series that otherwise doesn’t seem to exhibit any telltale signs of photoshopping?”
People on social media also suggested the first daughter had edited the photo.
“She made her waist smaller,” one person wrote on Twitter. “Check out the water between her waist and arm, it is a different colour and texture than the water elsewhere in the background.”
Another person said: “Either blur the full pool background or sort out Ivanka’s waist/arm gap or we might think her waist has been modified…”
One possible reason for the irregularity in the photo could be that the picture was taken in iPhone’s portrait mode, which can cause clarity inconsistency.
However, an Instagram account dedicated to calling out Photoshop told the outlet that Ivanka's “waist has definitely been Photoshopped” after comparing Ivanka’s photo to one shared by AFP photographer Mandel Ngan at the same time.
If Ivanka did edit the photo, she is not alone, as a 2015 survey found that 68 per cent of adults edit their selfies.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments