TL;DR Summary

Actual photo: Taken by an Iranian photographer, of her cousin, who had fallen a sleep while drawing chalk figures outside.
The photo was stolen from the photographer’s Flickr post and the text description is false.  More of the photographer’s work may be seen here including similar style photos with the same young girl (some really great photos too!). For some reason, the propaganda poster did not use the similar photo where she is curled up inside a drawing of an elephant.

• This photo and text works as propaganda on multiple levels
• The photo is a great photo
• The text description sounds “plausible”
• The photo and description tug at the emotions immediately engaging our emotional “thinking” and our rational thought disappears. Engaging our emotions is the basis of much propaganda messaging. This emotional link is the key to the success of this photo.
• By sharing this photo with others, we also engage in virtue-signaling, letting the world know that we care and we intend to solve these problems one Facebook post or Tweet at a time. Or something.

Even though the photo is real but the description and back story is fake, ChildFund Korea wanted to use this photo for a fundraising campaign, which is an example of how non-profits engage in propaganda messaging to manipulate you to donating to their cause.

Text for Search Engines

A Photograph that moved the world!
In Iraq, a little girl drew a picture of her mother on the floor of her orphanage. She carefully took off the shoes, lay down on mother’s chest and fell asleep… I really don’t know how to use human language to interpret such a picture
Alternate text
An Iraqi girl in an orphanage – missing her mother, so she drew her and fell asleep inside her.“
Additional keywords: Fake, False, Staged,