In late July 2024, a photo circulated on social media claiming to show actor Ryan Reynolds wearing a T-shirt with the slogan “Kamala removes nasty orange stains.” This image, which gained significant traction on platforms like X and Threads, was purported to be a political jab involving U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. However, the photo has been debunked as a fake.
The authenticity of the image is questionable for several reasons. The photo displayed an unidentifiable tattoo on Reynolds’ left forearm, which does not appear in genuine photos from the 2024 San Diego Comic-Con, where Reynolds was present. Additionally, the shirt’s logo and text seemed digitally added, with noticeable inconsistencies in lighting, shadows, and fabric texture suggesting that Reynolds’ head might have been superimposed onto another body.
On social media, the image attracted over 185,000 views on X, with some users believing it to be real and commenting, “Another reason to love Ryan Reynolds” and “So now I can’t watch his movies, oh well.” Despite this, no credible news sources reported on Reynolds wearing such a T-shirt, and searches through Google and Getty Images failed to find any authentic results. The T-shirt’s slogan, which plays on Tide laundry detergent branding, reflects a common tactic of using digital manipulation to create misleading celebrity images.
Ryan Reynolds, a Canadian-born actor who became a U.S. citizen in 2018 and participated in the 2020 U.S. presidential election, was not actually depicted in the image. This case highlights the need for careful verification of images, particularly those involving public figures and political content, as digital manipulation can easily create convincing but false narratives.
A short breakdown:
- Photo Authenticity: The image is manipulated, with discrepancies such as an unidentifiable tattoo and altered text.
- Social Media Impact: The image received significant engagement despite being fake.
- Lack of Credible Sources: No reliable sources reported on the T-shirt, and reverse image searches failed to authenticate it.
This case underscores the importance of scrutinizing images and verifying their origins to avoid spreading misinformation.
