Sometimes fake images strike a chord because they reflect a certain reality. "People are making caricatures based on existing conceptions. This helps them spread far and wide."

Some experts see danger in the speed with which such fakes can circulate on the Internet. "It speaks to the level of sophistication that average citizens can have, placing something like that in the mainstream of legitimate reportage and information."

... over the years people have grown more skeptical ...

A manipulated image, which is often more powerful than the sum of its parts, can affect not just visual perception but opinions as well.