Karoline Leavitt is facing serious online backlash after a Halloween image she posted drew accusations of digitally altering her partner’s appearance.
Social media users claim the pictures showed her partner with an unusually smooth and very youthful face, while other visible parts, such as his hands, seemed very aged.
The controversy arose with an Instagram post of Leavitt, Riccio, and their young son, who posed outside the White House and on the steps of the Naval Observatory.
Critics argued that the image on her social media account appeared so different from agency press images. This prompted serious speculation that the face had been airbrushed.
Commentators were particularly pointed about the pair’s 32-year age gap and suggested the editing attempts were at least partly to limit the visible years on Riccio’s face.
One person also felt the airbrushing of the husband’s face was done to make him appear younger, and that was the trick. Another added how his hands were 60 years but the face was much younger. Leavitt has not publicly replied to the allegations as of yet. This incident highlights how the images of public figures are scrutinized in real time, and how digital enhancement could swiftly become the story instead of the subject.