Fake viral image sparks community outrage: anti-LGBTQ photoshop debunked
A viral image is prompting community outrage by seemingly depicting a member of a valley organization wearing a t-shirt with the message "trans kids are sexy." However, the photo was debunked as being doctored, and no such message was there in reality.
The manipulated image circulated extensively across social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Truth Social, gaining hundreds of shares. The original photo shows the unidentified person wearing a completely blank shirt.
The individual depicted is a member of the Desert Flaggers, a vibrant organization in the Coachella Valley dedicated to movement-based flow arts and community fundraising.
According to a representative from the group, they have been addressing this issue for several weeks, and are "actively working with someone from New York who represents the young person whose image was superimposed on the public photo taken from the Desert Sun coverage of the 2021 Pride Parade." They believe that the person responsible for creating the fake image has been removed from Twitter.
Palm Springs Councilmember Lisa Middleton said she's appalled by the fake photo, emphasizing that it is being exploited to advance an anti-LGBTQ political agenda.
"A doctored photograph is a lie," Middleton said. "There are any number of people in the country today who believe that the key to political success is to stigmatize and tell lies about the LGBTQ community. And it may be good politics for a short period of time in some communities of this country, but it is not going to last."
Jacob Rostovsky, executive director of the Palm Springs-based Trans Power Project, sees the altered image as a ploy to perpetuate a false narrative about LGBTQ individuals.
"This is just something to make us look bad, to make people who might not be familiar with LGBTQ individuals wary or afraid, or to turn against us," Rostovsky said. "The only thing that the opposing side has against us is fear."
"Anyone who has had any association with people within the LGBTQ community knows the truth about our lives and what we are accomplishing in our communities," Middleton said.
