The smiling, ethnically diverse family featured on the cover of Toronto's latest edition of its summer Fun Guide was digitally altered to make the photo more "inclusive," which city officials say is in keeping with a policy to reflect diversity.
A spokesman for the department that publishes the guide listing recreation activities confirmed the publication was doctored to insert the face of a different father.
"He superimposed the African-Canadian person onto the family cluster in the original photo. It was two photographs and one head was superimposed over the original family photo," said John Gosgnach, communications director for the social development division.
"The goal was to depict the diversity of Toronto and its residents."
The cover shot caught the eye of a National Post graphics editor, who ran it through a program called TinEye that detects visual enhancements to standard art.
The program showed the original image was of a laughing family of indeterminate ethnic background.
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