Trump’s attendance at the G20 summit this weekend resulted in many indignities, from his deranged tweets about John Podesta to the fact that the rest of the world’s economic leaders are proceeding without the U.S. in the fight against climate change to the fact that we sent a fucking reality TV star to the G20 summit. Much attention was paid to Trump’s long-awaited in-person meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin amidst the encircling swarm of accusations of Russian meddling in the 2016 election, as well as Trump’s sycophantic fondness for the Russian strongman. It is perhaps that heightened scrutiny, as well as Trump’s long-simmering crush on Putin, that made this picture seem so believable:
It is not real. It was circulated by Putin loyalists, a montage of leaders huddled around as Putin gazes stoically in the distance.
Comparing the before and after, it’s almost interesting as a case study: they’ve cropped out Angela Merkel’s face and pinned a brooch on her, as well as changing the placard from “United Kingdom” to “Russian Federation.” Turkey’s foreign minister and president remain unchanged, as well as Trump, caught in a moment where he deigned to appear instead of his daughter.
Here is Kim Jong-un taking the position of power:
And, chillingly, Dobby The House Elf:
Those are both fake also, we believe.
[Note: Gizmodo, like The A.V. Club, is owned by Univision Communications.]