Screenshot of “photoshopped” job approval ratings spreads across social media

In an arena as divisive as American politics is right now, it’s probably advisable not to post political stats that have been clearly photoshopped. Especially if you’re related to the current occupier of the Oval Office.

That’s what Donald Trump Jr., son to the current US president, did this week, after he posted a graphic showing CNNs “magic wall” that appears to show Trump’s job approval rating 5% high than that of President Obama’s.

The graphic was showing Trump’s numbers compared side-by-side to Obama’s numbers at the same time in their respective presidencies, around 18 months in (the Obama numbers are not his final numbers, as claimed by some.) You can see the CNN piece here.

Sponsored Content. Continued below...

While many of the numbers do clearly favour President Trump (those on the other side of the political aisle would likely point out that Obama became president during a recession and Trump became president during an economical climb) there is one statistic that doesn’t seem quite right, and that’s the job approval rating, which has been clearly (and very poorly) digitally altered.

As you can see from the link above, the original rating is 40%, not 50%. Someone has tried to scrub the 40% off and replace it with 50%, and the result was subsequently posted by Donald Trump Jr. on his Instagram account.

The altered statistics have also been taken from that graphic and used in other memes that are spreading on social media as well.