A few years back we saw an image that would quickly became a symbol of our time, highlighting one of the major flaws in humankind’s obsession with achieving physical perfection. The image was a family portrait, the mother and father of which had both undergone plastic surgery and looked startlingly different from their three kids, all of whom had similar, very distinct physical features. As it was later discovered, however, the portrait was completely staged, and none of the people in it are related in any way.
Nevertheless, the negative impact of the photo was so great that the life of the young “mother” took a drastic turn for the worse after the image went viral. The woman is now suing the Taiwanese plastic surgery clinic and advertising firm behind the image for using it unfairly and for not explaining the nature of advertisement the photo would be used for.