Why Don’t We Fake It in the Road? Embarrassing Fake Chinese News Photo

Let’s face it, this story is boring. Or at least it was supposed to be. What was supposed to happen was some Chinese government inspector guys were supposed to get photographed doing their inspector stuff on a newly-constructed road in the Sichuan Province county of Huili. And that photo was merely to be posted on the county’s website to show a nice little story about local pride and progress in this very rural part of China. But thanks to the miracle of PhotoShop, the picture of the government officials inspecting the road has turned into an embarrassment (literally) of riches in press coverage for Huili County. Above on the left, you can see for yourself the original picture source for two of the three men in the resulting image on the right. The road looks like a nice road, and the men look comfortable and pleasant enough. It’s just that they appear to be floating, which is pretty much what has the international press buzzing about the clumsily-manipulated image. And it is likely these three guys will become a popular internet meme. We’ve already seen them at the beach, and getting attacked by dinosaurs. (The Guardian UK – Floating Chinese Road Inspectors)