The Truth:
This is digitally manipulated photograph that
went viral on the internet in early June 2010.
Our investigation team found
some of the elements of this photo from other web sites on the internet,
which is a good indication that this photo is a digital manipulation.
The real billboard is owned by Clear Channel Outdoor Corporation in Arizona
and TruthOrFiction.com is awaiting additional information from a company
spokesperson.
The Arizona flag was
taken from the
Azbaseball.org web site.
Some prankster, using image manipulation software, cut out the American
flag from the original photo, then lowered the ball on the mast head of
the flag pole over the Arizona flag. The flag was then copied and
pasted just below faked billboard. Below on the left is the
original photo and on the right is the manipulated image from the
Arizona billboard:
The image below is of
the Arizona Flag in the outline of the Grand Canyon State taken from a
web
site posted by the Arizona Department of Health Services. It
is identical to the image on the billboard on the upper right hand
corner.
updated 06/09/10
