[D-fendr]

If specific fields within what should be a single scan of the document entered into the software are then added as a separate layer, that is peculiar, is it not?

Not once you enter the PDF world. :).

I just opened a text to PDF document in Adobe Illustrator. There were no layers in the original, just text processing.

In Illustator there was Layer 1 which included a layer Group comprised of a layer for each line of text, some path and clipping path layers, like we see in the Obama doc. All of this separating, grouping and layering was done by the software.

[RobRoy]

But isn’t the original document contents treated as basically a single image, and therefore a single layer? I am not an expert on it, which is why I am asking.

[mike182d]

"I just opened a text to PDF document in Adobe Illustrator. There were no layers in the original, just text processing.

In Illustator there was Layer 1 which included a layer Group comprised of a layer for each line of text, some path and clipping path layers, like we see in the Obama doc. All of this separating, grouping and layering was done by the software."

A digitally generated text document (Word, etc.) has meta data that Adobe has to work with when generating a PDF. A scanned document does NOT possess this same data. Apples and oranges. Whatever software is used to scan the document may create these layers too but it WILL NOT create a clipping mask. These are only generated in programs like Photoshop or Illustrator.

If there were "just" layers, I wouldn't be as skeptical. The presence of a clipping mask reveals a poor attempt to flatten the image and cover up manipulation.

I could be wrong though. Has any paper document you've scanned created a clipping mask?

[TStro]

I perform asbestos analysis. I looked at the document under my 100x reflected light microscope. Unfortunately, it is not equipped for my camera. Definitely a clear white border around the letters that shouldn’t be there. Better than the other forgery released earlier, however.

Steve