No, Parkland survivor Emma González did not rip up the Constitution
If you’ve been on social media in the past week, you’ve probably noticed people have a lot of opinions about the March for Our Lives, gun control, and school shootings. A lot of opinions.
And if you’ve been on social media like Facebook and Twitter over the past few years, you’ve probably also noticed memes and images that seem doctored, or plainly put, photoshopped.
One such image is making the rounds, a GIF of Parkland shooting survivor Emma González seemingly ripping up the constitution.
#Vorwärts! pic.twitter.com/ffbcm6xjX3
— Adam Baldwin (@AdamBaldwin) March 24, 2018
Here’s the problem. The image isn’t real. It’s taken from a video created by Teen Vogue showing González — surrounded by several fellow teenagers who survived the Parkland shooting — tearing up a paper shooting target.
“We, the youth of the United States, have built a new movement to denounce gun violence and call for safety in all of our communities. This is only the beginning.” @Emma4Change pens a searing op-ed on this generation’s plans to make change: https://t.co/MV34GJgrdI #NeverAgain pic.twitter.com/FWTpOD1WKL
— Teen Vogue (@TeenVogue) March 23, 2018
Here are the two images side by side, as shared by an outraged Twitter user. The original photo with the target is crisp and can be traced back to the Teen Vogue shoot. The other shows the teenager with her face seemingly altered to have large dark circles under her eyes, ripping up a cartoonish version of the Constitution.
Justy a sample of what NRA supporters are doing to teenagers who survived a massacre (real picture on the right). pic.twitter.com/czX7IHD8ur
— Don Moynihan (@donmoyn) March 25, 2018
People on Twitter aren’t having it, and are repeatedly calling out anyone who shares the image.
You just tweeted a photoshopped image dummy
— Zak Burns (@ZakBurnsKIROFM) March 25, 2018
Reported this utter fabrication for violating Twitter’s terms of use. You should be ashamed of yourself.
— Shannon Coulter (@shannoncoulter) March 25, 2018
Fake. Shame on you for targeting kids who experienced the murder of 17 people in their school community.
You fear Emma, don’t you?
— Professor Resistance (@ResistProfessor) March 25, 2018
Others noted that the changes whoever created the fake image made to the teen — who, it bears repeating, recently survived a school shooting – look very different.
They used high contrast to make her look more hardened and cruel.
— AltPaul (@realaltpaul) March 25, 2018
I looked at it more closely and they even changed the shape of her head. It seems more square than her oval face. Just look at how her skull protrudes more just above her right ear (that’s on our left). Man, the lengths they’re going to… Smh
— AndrogynousPyroTiger (@LittlePyroTiger) March 25, 2018
And some just pointed out that the image looks really, really fake.
This is really fake. So sad anyone would actually think it was real. I actually feel sorry for you because you have no critical thinking skills.
— jlq529 FBI✊⚖️ (@jlq529) March 25, 2018
González and her fellow survivors emerged onto the national stage just three days after the deadly Feb. 14 shooting at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School. González’s riveting, 11-minute “we call BS” speech a few days after the shooting went viral, thrusting her into the national spotlight, which only intensified after her speech at the March for Our Lives rally in D.C.
Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:
• The best photos from March for Our Lives around the world
• Emma González’s March for Our Lives speech lasted as long as the Parkland Shooting
• Trump administration removes pages on LGBTQ women’s health from government website
Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day.
