Irish Bloggers Hit Back At “Bullying” Accounts Claiming Pictures Are Photoshopped

Update: Rosie Connolly took to Instagram this evening to state that she was referencing  other online threads and groups that have targeted her personal life and not the account that shared the before and after photos of her with regards to bullying.

The social media sphere has been a riot of posts this weekend surrounding several successful Irish bloggers and influencers. 

Following photos posted by a private Instagram page (@bullshitcallerouter) that appear to prove the use of photoshop and cosmetic enhancements by the influencers, Suzanne Jackson of So Sue Me and Rosie Connolly - among others - are calling out what they say is "cyber bullying".

@Bullshitcallerouter posted the photos of some of Ireland's most well known bloggers with the disclaimer that the page was "NOT set up for bullying"

The account added that any nasty commentators would be blocked. The images show before and after comparisons as well as what appears to be 'waves' in the horizon which can be a sign the image has been altered.

Several bloggers took to Snapchat to say that they were uniting against the "trolls" who are behind the online threads

Grace Mongey of Faces By Grace said that "it's not normal to partake in such negativity" while Rosie Connolly posted her own comparison photos and said that she has never lied about getting lip fillers or the fact that she used to look different. Joanne Larby (the Make Up Fairy Pro) also shared her own 'before and after images'.

Suzanne Jackson joined in by saying that the blogging community would be uniting to create a campaign to shut down fake accounts and end cyber bullying.

People are debating online however, about the importance of influencers to young people and the effects of edited images on youth's self esteem

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A post shared by Dublin Girlo (@dublin_girlo) on Jan 7, 2018 at 1:14am PST

Why are these ladies not addressing the Photoshop and editing concern that their followers clearly have? I completely understand and support standing up against bullying, but don't ignore the original issue.

— Tracy Sadlier (@Tracy_Dublin) January 6, 2018

In a world where online appearances are often valued more than the real thing, people are asking influencers to take a second look at the type of lifestyle they are portraying. 

While people are commenting that it's normal to edit photographs and that people can clearly see they are edited for aesthetic reasons, we need to remember that not everyone - in particular teenagers - will have the consciousness to view photos in that way. 

Working together to combat online bullying is an admirable move and one that if done correctly will have a positive impact on young people in Ireland, but it seems there's more work to be done. 

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