French politician accused of staging glacier summit photo
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A French politician is fending off an “avalanche” of accusations that a photo on his Twitter page, in which he appears to be scaling a vertical summit in the Alps, is actually fake.
Eric Woerth, a conservative MP, posted the photo on Monday with the caption: “Always on the front foot.”
The photo quickly went viral, with users accusing at the 63-year-old politician of tilting the angle to make it seem as if he was scaling the Aiguille d'Argentière in the Alps.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Others pointed out odd features that would defy the laws of physics: Firstly, there are two people visible in the background that are walking up the “summit” without ropes. Secondly, Woerth’s zipper is visibly dangling toward the mountain’s surface. And finally, his ropes are tangled up to the side rather than falling down the mountain.
The photo attracted a barrage of ridicule, mockery, and even some memes.
“Even on holiday they lie,” commented one user. “It’s second nature to them.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“Second nature? No no, first,” replied another.
Woerth, who resigned from former President Nicolas Sarkozy’s cabinet in 2010 amid a political scandal, has dismissed the ridicule, insisting that the photo is no phony.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“The avalanches (dangerous phenomenon in the mountains…) comments by the publication of the mountain photo forces me to say that the image is true and without retouching,” Woerth quipped.
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As of Tuesday, the photo has received 4,000 comments and more than 7,000 likes.