Shoddy edit spotted by sharp-eyed Twitter user
Deputy leader Angela Rayner has been caught tweeting a doctored image as Labour attempts to airbrush the popularity of its former out of the party’s history.
Rayner tweeted a Labour job advert showing an enthusiastic Labour crowd – and at first glance all appears normal:
But the party clearly didn’t want anyone remembering just who had created all that enthusiasm – and the dodge was spotted by sharp-eyed Twitter user Troovus.
Troovus spotted that the original version of the image didn’t match the version in Rayner’s tweet – and the edit was very specific. A hand-made placard in the original thanked Jeremy Corbyn for leading the party:
How do we know it was Corbyn being thanked? Well, there have certainly been no enthusiastic crowds waving Labour flags for Keir Starmer.
In the version posted by Ms Rayner, the hand-made placard simply says ‘Labour’, but the shoddy edit even leaves the edges of the painted-out section easily identifiable – and removes one of the fingers of the poor woman holding it – before someone has tried to scribble in the party’s name instead of the shout-out to Corbyn:
It’s not hard to understand why Labour wouldn’t want to remind people of the passion and vision that ignited in the party under its previous leader, when the whole ‘marketing message’ of the party – ‘Under new management’ – hopes people will forget, while Starmer’s few acolytes and allies of convenience desperately try to rewrite history.
But the absence of enthusiasm, vision and passion in the dreary shell that Labour started to become within days of Starmer becoming leader are so deep that the absence of any images of cheering crowds would be no different even if the UK were not in the grip of lockdowns and social distancing.
And the resort to sneaky attempts to misappropriate the days when Labour was worth cheering about only highlights how bereft of vision and backbone the party is, ‘under new management’.
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These attempts to airbrush Corbyn away demonstrate an immense immaturity at the heart of the current Labour Party. From the pathetic “Under new Management” as though it was some kind of corner shop, to a playground-like “you’re not playing in our team,” and now this. They’re certainly matching Johnson in the “being children” department.
Angela has been a very big disappointment. She has not been able to stand up to Starmer
She has no desire to- she is a career politician who stood beside Joanna Baxter when Baxter was in tears over alleged “threats” at an NEC meeting – the threat was that there would be legal action if Jeremy Corbyn was kept off the ballot paper following the coup and Owen Smith challenge. She showed herself in her true colours then and has kept to them.
It must have been quite an offer she couldn’t refuse.
Ian, I always expected it would play like the lord and the maid. I am not sure as to whatever Angela cannot stand up to Starmer or she is playing to her ultimate benefit.
I met Angela before 2015 and the impression I got of her is that she was devoid of ideology but highly ambitious, she will play to the tune most beneficial to her. In 2016 she used her closeness to RLB to get into the front bench of shadow cabinet.
In 2020 she used the same friendship to promote herself as a left candidate for the deputy leadership, persuading RLB that she has stood aside for her to stand in the leadership and nominating RLB. In exchange, RLB nominated Rayners for the Deputy Leadership instead of Richard Burgon,
We all know who benefited from the deal and how Rayners stood aside when RLB was fired from cabinet without moving a finger to support her and now she goes around talking about expelling 1000s of members if necessary.
Maria V: “… the impression I got of her is that she was devoid of ideology but highly ambitious, she will play to the tune most beneficial to her.”
To a ‘T’, Maria. She is the “professional politician” type that not only removes principle and idealls and (ultimately) ethics from politics, her existence in the Labour party is anathema and evicts a good, honest, principled democratic socialists from its rightful place as Labour MP for wherever she represents.
To my mind Angela Rayner and Margaret Hodge are not so very different, low-lifes who dishonour Labour’s values..
Skwawky, those are two different images – you only have to took at it closely – taken within a few seconds of each other, but clearly different.
Is it possible the sign had LABOUR on one side and THANK YOU FOR BEING OUR LEADER on the other, or has the person carrying the sign said it didn’t?
“Possible” in a CT sense, but not plausible. Also if you look closely the orientation of the hand holding the placard is unchanged, so the interpretation in the article is what would be regarded in a court of law as beyond reasonable doubt.
Anthony R, try holding a sheet of cardboard up high with your thumb facing forward – it feels awkward and strains the forearm. Anyone would naturally shift their grip so the fingers faced forward again and it would only take a second.
It’s not just the airbrushing of the placard to hide its obviously reference to Corbyn there are so many other examples of amateurish doctoring of this photo.
Instead of employing a MSM junior perhaps Rayner should have invested in a person who’s experienced in hiding the truth from supporters
BackofBeyond, I used Photoshop from 1993 and Lightroom from 2007 – day in, day out, working on everything from 6 Mp up to gigabyte files scanned on a Tango from 4×5 negatives – so I’ve had a little bit of experience – and I can’t see the manipulations you see.
I’m not saying there’s been no manipulation, just that if there were it’d have to be seriously clumsy to be visible at these low resolutions.
I think that technically you could be right but the fact remains they chose to use an image that removed reference to Corbyn even though it was him that inspired those crowds.
No offence David but you lost me pretty early on there. Cow gum, cutting boards, gestetners etc were my limit. I trust you. Piss poor propoganda by the tapeworms. Regards ☮️
It’s bent. Merry Christmas everyone.
If you look at the text of the images, they don’t match. The “Thank you for being our leader” is significantly different to the “Labour” I wouldn’t put it past these charlatans to do anything to revise history in their own image. That’s what fascist dictatorships do.
Christopher Fox, writing in massive letters on a poster is very different to normal handwriting – if you’ve ever tried it you’ll know it’s really hard judging the right letter size that will best fill the space available – that’s why you so often see a couple of letters squashed in at the end on hand made posters.
I’m not saying this isn’t a faked-up image – just that nothing written here so far proves it is.
They really are very scared – which is a good thing.
They may at some level be scared but some of them are the most conceited and arrogant you would ever not wish to meet. As a group they make the party one that is corrupt
Organised crime is very ugly. X
That must be it – and of course the person concernedused their other hand to help turn it so as to put it back in the same grip (rather than reversed, which would show the thumb rather than the hand). And to preseve the silhouette of the placard, they have paused to turned down a corner of the placard, and straighten out another. And flattened out the middle of it. And done something very odd to their hand to give it the appearance of being a poorly doctored image of a hand. It’s the only reasonable explanation.
The image may have been doctored, but equally it may not – if it hasn’t, exif data (which can also be faked) could make Skwawk’s “fake photo” claim look like “fake news.”
Cloud cover shows it to have been a f2.8/f4 @ 1/30th sec kind of a day. Slow-shutter movement blur depends on how fast subject elements are moving. You’ll notice some people look sharp, others don’t.
The point is that everything you think is “doctoring” could have other explanations – in my opinion it’s better to avoid the risk of being proven wrong and looking stupid.
David, I was ok till it,” hasn’t”. Lost it but picked up to follow last paragraph. You have a point.
I don’t know why we are even debating this really , we know what the STarmer Party is about and its securing the Labour Party for the Israeli Govt and the Zionists. To ensure there is no threat ever to the Zionist destruction of a whole people and race .
Would it not be better now to start focusing on and supporting the initiatives that are emerging to support our Socialists who have been summarily expelled in their thousands and work/advertise to all ,, those efforts.
One knows full well that the majority of the PLP MPs are a bunch of utter shite and imo having climbed the greasy pole of politics getting themselves elected and into a position of power now do nothing to support or represent the very people who put them there .
Work needs to be promoted both inside the party and outside that ensures the undermining and destruction of them and their hypocritical careerist trash that they are .
The recent and very illuminating book by Leo Panitch shows just how Labour historically never has been a Socialist organisation , its membership maybe and want it to be but the Organisation that runs it certainly is not , it has to go or change radically . I suspect and hope that eventually it will go as it now appears incapable of representing its supporters who empower it.
Thanks for the book tip. I have honestly tried to understand socialists reasons to stay. I heard the same views BJC but they have been proven to be wrong. I am going to get the book. Cheers.
Why oh why does this new new Labour keep shooting itself in the foot. Is it old new Labour. Whatever it is, its not a party that I wish to support. All they needed to do was accept the best of Corbyn eg 10 pledges. Than move on give due credit to Corbyn instead of trying to airbrush him and his supporters out of history. over play Anti Semitism for political purposes. Keep the Shadow Cabinet balanced between left and right , that is what Corbyn did. Than the so called right wing labour MPs left and than campaigned against Corbyn . It was disgusting behaviour.
We now have a dominance of right wing Blairites in shadow Cabinet.
Starmer is a big disappointment. He seems to think that moving to the right is going to get him elected. That is his main objective, regardless of any values.
He did not need to do that. The 10 pledges he said he would keep to were a con.to try and keep the so called left happy.
Than driven by factionalism over played anti Semitism in The Labour Party, to pacify his backers . His behaviour has been disgraceful and immoral. It is about his ambition rather than what the UK really needs
There is nothing inspiring about his vision if you can call it that.
The only hope is that if and this is doubtful he wins the next election he carries out his 10 pledges. The Tories have moved further to the right regardless of what the more moderate Conservatives hoped for. So Starmer should move to the left. But will he , with the Blairites like Nandi and Austin Lukhurst in the cabinet. Let alone Hodge and her supporters .
“… He seems to think that moving to the right is going to get him elected.” It worked for Tony & I’m sure the Tony/Mandy keep reminding the new guard.
We know about Lady Pottymouth circles.
Yes you are probably right. He is not a independent voice I fear. He is relying on Blairite’s because the right wing of LP are dominant and must be obeyed. He cannot do anything else. He is not a strong leader with values.
Rewriting history? The stuff of dictators. The incompetence is funny but the motivation is nauseating. What a shabby, shoddy, shape-shifting, self-serving, perfidious dim-wit Rayner has turned out to be.
I look forward to the next Labour Party Conference when the members can see him face-to-face. We have a bone to pick Sir Keir!
He’s not bothered. THE BBC will provide him with security.
Has, Angela Rayner been approached and asked if she’s responsible for this obviously ham fisted easily seen alteration?
Before I make a comment and hear boths sides I’m taking this picture as propaganda against Angela Rayner!
If it turns out to be true I will be very sadly disappointed.
She is my local MP and I have had no reason to doubt her motives or political views so far.
and don’t forget how many thousands of LP members she was going to suuspend from theLP party
Beneath contempt, but not beneath expectation.
They’re making ‘Dayglo Donald’ look positively mature. And that’s some feat.
“The enemy within”. When a Prime Minister whom ‘forensic’ billionaires’ friend and Labour leader, Sir Keir Rodney Starmer admired intensely, called our wonderful Trades Union movement and miscelanious liberals and socialists “the enemy within” her intent was obviously malicious.
Bet (not so suddently), I’m having trouble NOT seeing the likes of David Evans, Angela Rayner and forensic dick-wipe himself, Sir Keir Rodney Starmer, as exactly that: The Enemy Within.
Rayner and the party aparatichiks that work so hard to airbrush the wonderful Jeremy Corbyn out of Labour should feel deep shame in themselves.
Please don’t ever change you Brilliant SkwawkBox
The doctored photo (if that is what it is) is used as background when you fill in the LP Equalities monitoring form