Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has been accused by social media users of sharing a photoshopped image of himself with a group of teenagers, in a promotional poster for his campaign to ban smoking.
But, in jumping to conclusions, are social media users unwittingly sharing misinformation?
And why has a University of Kentucky jumper ignited a photoshop conspiracy?
Here we take a look at claims that the photo of the prime minister has been edited.
1/ In the UK smoking causes 1 in 4 cancer deaths.
— Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) October 4, 2023
So I’m proposing changing the law so children turning 14 or younger this year can never legally be sold cigarettes in their lifetime.
A smoke-free generation.
None of us want our children to grow up to smoke.
Here's why 👇🧵 pic.twitter.com/pbym3E6cck
Is the photo of Rishi Sunak photoshopped?
Mr Sunak announced at the Conservative Party Conference that he proposes to increase the legal smoking age annually, meaning that 14-year-olds today will never legally be able to smoke.
The prime minister then shared a promotional poster explaining his proposal to social media.
A photo, shared to social media platform X (formerly Twitter), shows Mr Sunak next to three teenage boys, two of which are wearing sports sweaters of US universities: the University of Kentucky and Purdue University.
Many social media users have claimed that Mr Sunak has been edited into a photograph of American teenagers, with some suggesting that an image search for “UK teenagers” has brought up an image of “University of Kentucky (UK) teenagers”.
One X user said: “Photoshopping yourself into a stock image of some American teenagers makes you seem even less genuine, amazingly.”
Another said: “For his smoking campaign, Sunak had himself photoshopped with students from the University of Kentucky…what?
“Somebody searched ‘UK students’ and used the first pic they found, didn’t they?”
So did the prime minister photoshop an image of himself with American teenagers, as is being widely claimed?
The answer is no.
The photo Mr Sunak used in his anti-smoking campaign poster was taken during a visit to Truro College in Cornwall. An unedited version of the photo was uploaded to Flickr by the Conservative Party on February 9, 2023.
The Prime Minister and his wife, Akshata Murthy, visited the Cornwall college in February of this year to mark National Apprenticeship Week, as reported by Cornwall Live.
And here's the same kids from a different angle - no need for conspiracy.https://t.co/MqWOykD9KN pic.twitter.com/ssiPLH0NSo
— ianVisits (@ianvisits) October 5, 2023
Another photo from the same day shows him with the students wearing Kentucky and Purdue jumpers.
Therefore, despite the photoshop claims on social media, Mr Sunak has not been edited into a picture with US teenagers.
