Description: Viral image / Joke
Circulating since: Feb. 2012
Status: Fake (see details below)
Example caption:
As posted on Facebook, March 7, 2012:
Romney’s family misspell their last name in the greatest Freudian slip in history.
Analysis: The adult male in the above image is indeed Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, but those are not his children standing in front of him, nor, in the original, unretouched AP photo by Gerald Herbert, do the letters on the shirts they're wearing spell out "MONEY" (or "RMONEY"). They spell "ROMNEY." An unknown prankster manipulated the image to switch the positions of the "M" and the "O," and voila — a visual joke needling Mitt Romney for his wealth (estimates say he's worth between $85 million and $264 million).
According to the original Associated Press caption, the folks accompanying Romney are members of the Fisher family of Nevada, all fervent Romney supporters, apparently.
The Photoshopped version first appeared in a DemocraticUnderground.com forum on Feb. 4, 2012, the day after the AP photo was taken.
More political Photoshoppery:
• Welcome to Kenya, Birthplace of Barack Obama
• Obama's Left-Handed Flag Salute
• Obama's "Foreign Student" College ID
• Gov. Sarah Palin Poses in Bikini w/Rifle
• G.W. Bush Fishing in Hurricane Katrina
• John Kerry Shakes Hands with a Satanist
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Sources and further reading:
Mitt Romney 'Rmoney' Photoshop Kind of Says It All
Huffington Post, 6 Feb. 2012Mitt Romney Decisively Wins Nevada Caucuses
Associated Press, 4 February 2012Supporters of Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich at Nevada Rallies
MSNBC.com, 3 February 2012Romney Is Among Wealthiest Political Candidates
About.com: U.S. Politics, 12 March 2012
Last updated 09/27/12
