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This page is part of the Museum of Hoaxes' Hoax Photo Archive, a catalog of photo fakery throughout history. Images are categorized by theme, technique of fakery, and time period.
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Migrant Mother Makeover
Status: April Fool's Joke
Technique of Fakery: Deleted Details.
Date and Time Period: April 2005 issue of Popular Photography; (2005-Present)
Themes: Digital Plastic Surgery, Humor, April Fool's Day, Striking a Pose
Technique of Fakery: Deleted Details.
Date and Time Period: April 2005 issue of Popular Photography; (2005-Present)
Themes: Digital Plastic Surgery, Humor, April Fool's Day, Striking a Pose
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As an April Fool's Day joke, the editors of Popular Photography ran an article about how Dorothea Lange's "Migrant Mother" photo (bottom) could be saved.
Lange took the photo during the Great Depression. The mother in the scene is considered an iconic symbol of endurance and strength. But the editors of Popular Photography erased her wrinkles, softened her gaze, and removed her kids, transforming her into a smooth-faced soccer mom (top).
Their readers, not realizing the article was a spoof, were horrified. Hundreds wrote in to express outrage at the defacement of such a classic image.
Lange took the photo during the Great Depression. The mother in the scene is considered an iconic symbol of endurance and strength. But the editors of Popular Photography erased her wrinkles, softened her gaze, and removed her kids, transforming her into a smooth-faced soccer mom (top).
Their readers, not realizing the article was a spoof, were horrified. Hundreds wrote in to express outrage at the defacement of such a classic image.
References:
• "I can’t believe you guys would stoop so low!" PopPhoto.com.
• "I can’t believe you guys would stoop so low!" PopPhoto.com.
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