
What has surprised me is the number of Pinners that pin fake images on Pinterest. What is the purpose? I imagine that it is designed to help get followers and repins of these unusual images. Unfortunately, it will also give unwise Pinners the wrong idea regarding an endangered species or potential travel destinations. For example, is the above image real or fake? If you said fake, then you are correct. What are some indicators that it is a fake? First, this is a photo of a Clark's Nutcracker that is a gray and black bird. Second, the watermark indicates that this came from the Worth1000.com website. This website operates photo manipulation contests . . . you can find a great number of really well done images. So I understand the temptation, but at least confess that this image has been manipulated with a software, such as Adobe Photoshop. Finally, this bird is found in the mountain west region of the United States. I have seen it many times in our national parks, near campgrounds, pine trees, and in picnic areas.
But alas, even I have fallen for a few of these fakes. Now I take the time to verify the associated link. Does the pin link to a real website? Is the image still on the website? Is the author or photographer indicated on the website? Any photographer worth "their salt" will claim credit for their work! Most will share when and where the photo was taken, and with what camera they used to capture the image. Exercise a little caution before repinning that stunning image.
I realize that many of these images are pretty and it is difficult to resist. But be truthful in your representation! Your reputation will depend on your ethics. Consider this . . . if you use a fake image to attract customers to a business website (yes, I have discovered at least one company on Pinterest that has done this), I as a customer would not trust that the images of your products were truthful. By the way, here is the original untouched photo of the Clark's Nutcracker. Next time you see a beautiful and unusual bird, check out Cornell Lab of Ornithology.