Claim: Photo shows WSC staff member speaking to a student.
Verdict: The original image features opposition spokesperson Ryan Callus. Callus was edited out of the image and replaced with a random man, meant to represent a student.
A demonstration of Water Services Corporation’s water production technology turned into a display of photo wizardry, when opposition spokesperson Ryan Callus was photoshopped out of the image.
He was replaced by a random man in an edited photo uploaded to the corporation's Facebook page.
The original photo was taken on 6th November, during the third edition of Engineer Your Career, an event organised by Malta’s Chamber of Engineers to entice students into the industry. This year's edition was held at the Mediterranean Conference Centre.
It shows a WSC employee discussing a piece of equipment with PN MP and energy shadow minister Ryan Callus.
The original photo uploaded by the Chamber of Engineers. Photo: Facebook/Chamber of Engineers.The photo appears amongst the over 150 photos of the event posted by the Chamber of Engineers to their Facebook page just a few days later, together with countless others of Callus and other political figures, including infrastructure minister Chris Bonett and PN MP Mark Anthony Sammut.
Ryan Callus, Mark Anthony Sammut and Chris Bonett listen intently in another photo of the event. Photo: Facebook/Chamber of EngineersNone of the three featured when WSC took to Facebook on Monday to describe the event as an “exciting opportunity to have one of our engineers showcase some of WSC’s operations, including its water production technology”.
WSC’s post featured just a handful of photos, mostly of equipment and marketing material.
But eagle-eyed followers might have noticed that the post’s main photo, of a WSC staffer presenting a cylindrical piece of equipment to a seemingly confused man, was familiar.
In reality, the photo is identical to the one first posted by the Chamber of Engineers, only with Ryan Callus replaced by a man in a lime green t-shirt.
The edit is almost imperceptible at first glance, but upon closer inspection there are some tell-tale signs of the image having been manipulated.
A trace of Callus’ right hand, originally resting on the stand, can still be seen in the manipulated photo, while the contours of the man’s body appear slightly pixellated when magnified.
Callus’ replacement isn’t the only edit to the photo. WSC also took the opportunity to adorn a blank frame in the background with a large poster featuring the organisation’s logo.
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'We wanted to focus on students, not politicians': WSC
When contacted for comment, a WSC spokesperson told Times of Malta that Ryan Callus' photo was the only one they received featuring WSC's stand at the event, so "the WSC PR team sought to make do with what it had".
Not wanting to feature any politicians within the post, the WSC PR team chose to replace Callus with another figure meant to represent a student.
"Let’s just say, we wanted the photo to have a bit more ‘student potential’ and a bit less politics in the frame," the spokesperson said.
Verdict
A photo taken at an event organised by the Malta Chamber of Engineers and posted to the Chamber’s Facebook page was later edited when it was posted to Facebook by the Water Services Corporation.
The edit replaced shadow minister Ryan Callus with a random man and added a large Water Services Corporation poster to the image’s background.
A WSC spokesperson said Callus' image was replaced because the organisation wanted to focus on students, not politicians.
The original, unedited image remains online on the Chamber of Engineers’ Facebook page.
The claim that the photo shows a WSC member speaking to a student is therefore false, as the evidence clearly refutes the claim.
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