You couldn’t be more right. Lots of fakery. But that doesn’t mean this is fake. At its simplest: an image of a person consistent with Gospel discussion of Christ crucified. Scorched, not painted, into the top few fibrils, that is the fibers that make up thread. Not reproducible by any technology we have, let alone that available in the Middle Ages. And on and on and on. My point being look into it and draw your own conclusions, but just slapping the fakery label on it is not supported by the evidence or the scholarship
I’ve “looked into it” for a very long time, in fact, from the very fist time I heard about it many decades ago.
While it’s interesting as all heck I can’t get past a few things that don’t add up. Which I don’t feel like elaborating on at the moment. I’m on the faked side until It’s proven different.
As a born again Christian I don’t believe in idolatry of any sort. Praying to statues, counting beads, lighting candles and praying to artifacts is what I consider man made religion, not of God.