The “Instagram Reality” Community Is Dedicated To Exposing The Fakest People Online, Here Are 35 Of Their Best Posts (New Pics)
From time to time, many of us slightly exaggerate our daily lives online. One study has found that only 29% of people would post a picture of themselves on social media without editing it first. After all, we tend to promote our best moments while leaving out the bad or the mundane.
When it comes to the world of face filters and airbrushing techniques, enhancing your favorite features and reshaping your body has become terrifyingly easy. In fact, some Instagrammers edit their photos so much, there’s a whole community dedicated to calling them out. Enter the Instagram Reality subreddit, where people are on a mission to expose those who have taken it way too far.
As the moderators write, “it’s unbelievable how some people get away with it while others don’t!” So take a look at some of the best posts this online group had to offer right below. And if you’re in the mood for some more ridiculous manipulations, check out our previous posts about them here, here, and here.
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Scarred Me A Little Bit, Not Gonna Lie
Found One In The Wild - I Am Flabbergasted
When A Family Member Accidentally Posts Your Real Face
I don't even understand the point of Photoshopping here, she looks fine without any of the post editing bs that she does, like, I know it's probably a mental issue but that's not the way to solve it
Earlier on, Bored Panda reached out to the head moderator of Instagram Reality, Zaza9000. They told us they try to keep this online community easy to engage with and be a part of, which is one of the reasons why this subreddit has become so popular. “Last year, so many people have shared interesting stories from their personal lives,” the moderator added, saying they really hope this trend continues.
As of today, this online group has amassed more than 1M members who reveal how some Instagrammers go way overboard with their photoshopping skills. However, Zaza9000 said that recently there has been more and more interest in video editing. “Especially apps like Facetune2 and SNOW that allow you to edit your body and certain Instagram filters that can make your lips appear bigger and make your skin unrealistically perfect. Seeing them glitch in videos has been a really popular topic on the sub,” they explained.
Who Even Needs Organs?
She Says That Her Goal Is To Be A French Doll. Her Instagram vs. An Interview
When you don't grow up from the "I can grow up to be anything in this world" phase
Noses Are Clearly Overrated...who Even Needs Them?
Zaza9000 continued: “For us non-influencer regular people, of course, travel isn’t always an option, especially if it’s just for a vacation away. Unfortunately, there have been a few influencers that don’t care, to be blunt. Some of them feel like traveling and being on vacation is necessary and well-deserved even though people in the medical field, teachers, retail workers, etc. don’t get to just jump on a jet and get away.”
How Do I Tell Someone To Tone Down The Filter?
Wtf Is Up With Those Hands?!?!?!?
When You Can't Hide The Lines In The Background Warping So You Photoshop Them Out Entirely
Moreover, some Instagrammers fake their whole lives. Whether they do it to collect followers, attract attention, or simply show that their life is worthy to be looked at, people can be greatly affected by seeing such manipulations online. In a previous interview, Dr. Cortney Warren told Bored Panda that people tend to lie on social media. They usually do that “by presenting an image of themselves and their lives that reflects what they wish were true.”
A board-certified clinical psychologist and author of Lies We Tell Ourselves: The Psychology of Self-Deception thinks that they want to show “a more glamorous version of themselves and their lives that shows the fun, interesting parts of themselves and ignores the blemishes.”
Found On An Instragram Story. It Scared The Bejesus Out Of Me
A Very Famous 63 Year Old Woman Completely Unrecognizable
Posted vs. Tagged (The Middle Person Different)
“Although selective self-presentation and lying about ourselves on social media may not seem like a surprise (or even a big deal), it can affect us greatly,” Warren noted. We humans have a natural tendency to believe that others are honest with us. “A large body of research suggests that we are programmed to trust others. Although the reasons for our tendency to trust are complex, without interpersonal connectedness and a fundamental belief that those around will support you, protect you, and treat you respectfully, we feel unsafe.”
Toe Down! Toe Down!!
Not Enough Guys On Here, But They’re Just As Guilty
She Uses The One On The Left For Her Job Application… I Really Don’t Understand It, I Also Love Filters, But I’m Well Aware That They Change My Appearance And Doesn’t Look Like Me. But She Use The Picture For A Job Application?! Smh
Well she looks like a junkie Without the filter so I'm guessing it's to get in the door.
No idea why you were downvoted - she really does look like a meth addict... (not saying that she is one)
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They tell her to leave because they obviously can't trust that anything she says or does is authentic or trust worthy in any way regardless of her qualifications that are probably nothing more than lies as well.
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Honestly, I feel bad for her because looks do matter in our world and pretty people get better jobs. It's just a fact. I can see why people use these filters heavily almost as a way to cosplay and escape the harsh reality for a bit.
She's actually got good features and bone structure. She just needs some well applied make up and a decent haircut.
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Can we all just stop saying she needs makeup? Would the comments be the same for a man?
I'm amazed you still have job applications with pictures wherever this is? Beyond very specific jobs like model/actress/... ?
They've become really common again. I'd say because kids can't stop taking pics of themselves!
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For all the body positivity and posts about not sexualizing women and lifting eachother up that I see on here there sure are a lot of people in the comments ready to rip this woman who you know nothing about to shreds. You all have the cojones to ask why people are willing to photoshop themselves to hell...is it any wonder? She's obviously not wearing any makeup in the second pic.
I'm disgusted by all these comments. I think her face looks kind. What hateful assholes on BP. 👎🏻
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If she's going to mislead on something as visible as her own appearance, what is she going to do for less obvious?
Let’s not be vultures. This isn’t some washed-up celebrity, or pretty girl going too far - this person is facing battles - hard ones, it seems. Kudos to her for applying for a job. And wtf do you need to send a photo with your résumé?! Oh, we all know why. Obviously, she didn’t make a good choice if the post is true.
Job app photo? What happens when she goes in & looks like on the right??
she's pretty! its too bad people call each other junkies and rude names.
She's not even that bad looking; it's just the awful haircut
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So I'm not one to typically judge looks because I also have some lines I wanna hide and some extra pounds I really hate looking at but I work in a town with a decent meth problem and honestly that is what the 2nd picture looks like to me. Or maybe cancer as I have also known a beautiful woman who had a similar appearance when she was dying from cancer. Either way this woman looks like her health is failing and my heart breaks for her because the 1st Pic is what she wishes for. But then again all these people are posting their greatest wish while we judge and laugh at them. I feel a little dirty now...
What happens when you show up to work looking like a totally different person?? Lied on the application... not technically but Yes~
And then "that" shows up for the in person interview?!? Self cancellation for sure!!
Unfortunately she does look kinda like a junkie. But their going to be unconvinced it's the same person. I would be. For jobs tone it down nobody needs that many filters.
I would not hire someone this duplicitous. Heck, all she needs are decent cosmetics.
Heck, all you need is a decent personality.
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Why not just get a professional make-over and take some pics with no filter, make up can really do miracles if need be.
You asswhole. Shes beautiful the way she is, she doesn't need any f*****g cosmetics, you do, you a*s.
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The facial structure isn't even the same! If you want to make yourself pretty for the job applications, might I suggest foundation, concealercontouring, mascara, a touch of eyeshadow, eyeliner and mascara, and then finally, EYEBROWS!
go to hell you a*s. she is fighting her own battles.
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Maybe she's made a mask of it to wear to the interview. She's got really good features. I can't imagine why she let herself be photographed like that.
I just like to use filters that change the brightness and enhance it. Barely anything
"Lucy, she gotta wear a WHOLE LOTTA MAKEUP to look-a-like she do in the first picture!" She'd better have a great credit card with a large open line of credit so she can get her butt to Utla and/or Sephora and buy everything they have in stock, learn how to apply them (pallet knife is not included!) BEFORE her interview!
A little foundation and blush would have made a huge difference and would probably have been enough in job hunting. Most jobs want you to have some makeup anyway.
Omg!! I "know" her - I've seen her posts. Many times. This is hilarious! (That I know of her. Not the fact that she feels the need for filters!) OP! You danish?
All she needs is a little foundation and eyeliner/shadow and she'd have a great look for an application photo
Ask the office imbecile to interview her. No, wait! That could backfire.
obligatory 90s reference to the Crypt Keeper on the right pic...but *AFTER* a meth infused weekend!
Just a bit of makeup and a nice blow dry , will make all the difference.
She has very pop out wide set eyes that with the right makeup could stand out
The real deal is not the look I'd go with during a pandemic. Typhoid Mary is here for her interview. She looks like she's 30 seconds from dying.
So when people are dishonest on social media, it can be problematic. “We internally presume that what is presented is true,” she explained. “That people are naturally as good-looking as their photos appear. That people’s daily home life is as perfect as the pictures depict. That others have very few gut-wrenching struggles. That people around us are in a habitual state of going on vacation, eating out, and parenting blissfully.”
“This is clearly not true,” the psychologist explained. “And although we are less aware of the realities of other people’s lives, we are well aware of the ways in which our own lives are NOT ideal.” When we compare ourselves with “the idealized images and unreasonably positive life accounts that tend to permeate social media, we are likely to feel more poorly about ourselves and our lives.”
Do People Still Believe These Are Real Photos?
What The Model Posted vs. The Getty Photagrapher
She's prettier in real life. In the first picture she looks so generic...
Upload vs. Screenshot From Unedited Video
Warren told us that there’s a growing body of research suggesting that “social media use can negatively affect your psychological health, particularly if you compare yourself to the people or images you see online.” She mentioned a study of 339 college women, where “the tendency to compare oneself to others was associated with poorer body esteem and a greater desire to use social media to make such body comparisons.”
This Girl With Polish And Scandinavian Parents Suddenly Turning Into A Brazilian
Don't tell me I'm the only one seeing the similarities to this: image-621f...7-jpeg.jpg 
I... I Don't Even Know What To Say. Lord Have Mercy
She seems to have an unusual syndrome where her lips only close if they’re clamping down on a cigarette…
I Could Be Wrong But I Don’t Think That’s How Upper Thighs Work
Busted
Forget about side-boob........watch out for the wide side ass!!
We all lie—and on social media, this is rampant. “Often, people do it to try to project an image of what they wish were true. To make ourselves look more beautiful. Smarter. More successful. As though we have a more fun life!”
Warren advised you, dear readers, to be fully honest with yourselves. “If you catch yourself in the act of lying, pause. Ask yourself why you are doing it. As you understand what’s motivating your lies, you can be more honest with yourself about who you want to be and how you want to act,” she concluded.
Do People Actually Fall For This Kind Of Crap?! 800+ Comments Telling Her She’s Beautiful
A Famous Singer In Romania (What She Posts On Ig vs. Screenshot From A Video)
I'm beginning to believe that these people have never seen another human beings skin because nobody's skin is as smooth as sheet of iron no matter how much you douse it in products for it
Do Brands Even Look At Photos Before Sharing Them?
Photographer Posted His “Retouching” Work On A Facebook Group
The left photo has weird lighting, the model herself looks stunning. No need to photoshop (as far as there is ever a need to photoshop at all)
You Know What's Bizarre.. I Opened This Ad Listing For A Wig And Thought It Was A Person With A Really Bad Photoshop Job, But It's Actually A Badly Photoshopped Mannequin. Even They Aren't Safe Anymore
This Instagram Account That Charges For "Editing Tutorials"
75y Old Dutch Television Personality. Left A Recent Pic On Instagram, Right Am Event In 2019
Spotted On Facebook. It Feels Almost Satirical In Its Lack Of Awareness
I Just Has To Share This Find
2 UK Influencers Got Posted Unfiltered By A Modeling Agency
She Has Straight Up Just Drawn A Leg In There
Couldn’t Tell Them Apart, Could Break Rule 6
Local Makeup Artist Photoshopping Clients-2nd Slide Is Screenshot From Video She Posted- Same Girl
Gurl, I am jealous of your natural beauty, why tf did u photoshop and cover-up all that goodness!?
Note: this post originally had 99 images. It’s been shortened to the top 35 images based on user votes.
I said it before and I say it again: I want a horror movie where instagrammers get kidnapped and kept in a coma by some deranged plastic surgeon and he makes them look irl like they look in their heavily photosphopped pictures. And once they are all healed he sets them free and they have to live with their new, ridiculous body.
What bothers me is that young women think this is beautiful and ok. Their minds have been warped and we should teach the young girls (and boys) from an early age that it just ain't normal. It's horrible to see this.
People on bored panda: We need to teach our young girls to love their bodies and imperfections! Bored panda comments about womens unfiltered pictures in this thread: eww, gross, methhead, looks like she had a stroke etc.
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So sad that people feel like their actual face and body aren't good enough.
And so many of them look better in real life !
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Maybe if the media would stop ridiculing women who age or don't have perfect bodies..
So rediculous since everyone ages and few people have ideal bodies. And there are many different body types anyway.
Load More Replies... As a photographer I have used filters to adjust the light to get the right feeling, and the only time I manipulated the subject was to remove some hair that blew into her face. That was it.
Good! And if a pro took my photo and I would have a zit the size of Vesuvius I would also want it to be edited out. Not my wrinkles, I got those honestly ;)
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I feel so bad for teenagers and youth nowadays as they are constantly bombarded with images of perfect looking Influencers with flawless skin and celebrities. Unfortunately, many teens fail to understand that these beauty standards are unattainable as some many of the images they see are Photoshopped or the person in the image has had plastic surgery. I would hate to be a teen today and constantly worried that I'm not as pretty as all the TikTok girls or Instagram "stars". So many Influencers pray on impressionable teens like this and it truly creates so many problems with body image.
These people have such low self-esteem parading around like they don't. Instagram is toxic and sending such terrible messages to the world.
but more than low self-esteem, it's also a huge body and face dysmorphia. Because, ok, you can be not ok with the way you look, but how twisted your brain needs to be to see these edits and think "oh yeah, this looks better!"
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So FB again has another platform that is consistently selling lies, misinformation to the sorry masses that they make money off.
I met young and short woman. Before I saw she was very different on social media. I was shocked. It’s fake and lies.
I just don't understand the vanity that all of these folks have or is it the insecurities? Either way, I never quite grasped the need for attention on social media. To each their own I guess.
I really wish these people would not get so much publicity. They are grotesque and should be ashamed.
I always thought it was so bizarre to see ppl I knew irl posting these weird, edited, posed pictures. It's like looking through a window into a desperation you didn't know existed. I wish ppl saw themselves the way I see them... wonderfully made and unique.
I think I just cracked the code! None of these people want to be recognised in the real world so they edit their photos to the extreme 🤣🤦
Why I never take selfies, and have no clue how to use any kind of filter nor photoshop. I'm 70 y.o., have never been "cute" or even moderately attractive, just a plain, now homely, girl and woman. I'd never want to pull a scam on anyone by showing a pic of "me" online (altered in any way from my real appearance), and then having the frightening reality of my face in front of them when we met in person.
If you are ashamed of your natural looks then do something about it, like making some lifestyle changes so you look and feel more attractive. Don't try to fool people with this ridiculous computer-enhanced fake beauty because you will only tell people you meet that you are a fraud.
I never have used Instagram, nor any other social media now, but I sure wouldn't want to do anything to change my (very homely) appearance. If I was to lie to anyone about how I really look, what does that say about my character? I'm 70, never have been anything like "pretty," and I look a lot like my late father. Dad was a handsome man, but his looks didn't translate well to his oldest child-daughter!
Many years ago there used to be a company called Glamour Shots. A woman would go in and they’d do her hair and makeup and provide some gorgeous clothes and take a bunch of photos. She’d come back two weeks later and almost always buy the whole packet, so thrilled at how she looked in those photos. These packets ran by today’s dollars maybe $1200 or $1500 that most of these women could ill afford. My friend worked there and had some amazing stories - women with terrible skin, thin hair and missing teeth just drooling over their movie star portraits. What were they thinking??????
just a few years ago people joked about Michael Jackson's nose and now so many want to have them...
I know many people are stupid but do they really think the rest of us are too? Some of these are so ridiculous
The vanity of these people is just mind blowing! Just be you. Being ugly is fine. Gotta have us ugly people or there is no pretty people.
I never post photos with filters unless the ones that are pretty obvious like the one with the tattoos or something like that. I made a little experiment once. Had a picture of me photoshopped and all. People went crazy. And I mean people who know me since I don't have randoms on any social media. It was very very weird.
I don't freaking get it mad who do these people think they're fooling it looks ridiculous and when people see them in real life they'll be like what the f***
We live in a society obsessed with appearances and in love with deception then we get upset because of fake news. It’s time to start honoring truth, reality and honesty if we want to live in a society that is healthy.
There is no such thing as an unaltered image. A camera is not an eye. The very act of taking a picture is itself an alteration.
That sounds nice in poststructuralist art deconstruction class at university, but in reality, I think we can all see that the above photos are extremely edited, and that's the point of the post. Not to critique photography per se. Thanks !
Load More Replies... Ha! I absolutely love these articles because they're HILARIOUS! People are getting dumber by the minute and this just proves it. And the fact you think taking a selfie from the internet in order to mock these people is "body shaming" makes it all the more hilarious. These people DESERVE to be mocked...often!
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I said it before and I say it again: I want a horror movie where instagrammers get kidnapped and kept in a coma by some deranged plastic surgeon and he makes them look irl like they look in their heavily photosphopped pictures. And once they are all healed he sets them free and they have to live with their new, ridiculous body.
What bothers me is that young women think this is beautiful and ok. Their minds have been warped and we should teach the young girls (and boys) from an early age that it just ain't normal. It's horrible to see this.
People on bored panda: We need to teach our young girls to love their bodies and imperfections! Bored panda comments about womens unfiltered pictures in this thread: eww, gross, methhead, looks like she had a stroke etc.
Load More Replies... So sad that people feel like their actual face and body aren't good enough.
And so many of them look better in real life !
Load More Replies... Maybe if the media would stop ridiculing women who age or don't have perfect bodies..
So rediculous since everyone ages and few people have ideal bodies. And there are many different body types anyway.
Load More Replies... As a photographer I have used filters to adjust the light to get the right feeling, and the only time I manipulated the subject was to remove some hair that blew into her face. That was it.
Good! And if a pro took my photo and I would have a zit the size of Vesuvius I would also want it to be edited out. Not my wrinkles, I got those honestly ;)
Load More Replies... I feel so bad for teenagers and youth nowadays as they are constantly bombarded with images of perfect looking Influencers with flawless skin and celebrities. Unfortunately, many teens fail to understand that these beauty standards are unattainable as some many of the images they see are Photoshopped or the person in the image has had plastic surgery. I would hate to be a teen today and constantly worried that I'm not as pretty as all the TikTok girls or Instagram "stars". So many Influencers pray on impressionable teens like this and it truly creates so many problems with body image.
These people have such low self-esteem parading around like they don't. Instagram is toxic and sending such terrible messages to the world.
but more than low self-esteem, it's also a huge body and face dysmorphia. Because, ok, you can be not ok with the way you look, but how twisted your brain needs to be to see these edits and think "oh yeah, this looks better!"
Load More Replies... So FB again has another platform that is consistently selling lies, misinformation to the sorry masses that they make money off.
I met young and short woman. Before I saw she was very different on social media. I was shocked. It’s fake and lies.
I just don't understand the vanity that all of these folks have or is it the insecurities? Either way, I never quite grasped the need for attention on social media. To each their own I guess.
I really wish these people would not get so much publicity. They are grotesque and should be ashamed.
I always thought it was so bizarre to see ppl I knew irl posting these weird, edited, posed pictures. It's like looking through a window into a desperation you didn't know existed. I wish ppl saw themselves the way I see them... wonderfully made and unique.
I think I just cracked the code! None of these people want to be recognised in the real world so they edit their photos to the extreme 🤣🤦
Why I never take selfies, and have no clue how to use any kind of filter nor photoshop. I'm 70 y.o., have never been "cute" or even moderately attractive, just a plain, now homely, girl and woman. I'd never want to pull a scam on anyone by showing a pic of "me" online (altered in any way from my real appearance), and then having the frightening reality of my face in front of them when we met in person.
If you are ashamed of your natural looks then do something about it, like making some lifestyle changes so you look and feel more attractive. Don't try to fool people with this ridiculous computer-enhanced fake beauty because you will only tell people you meet that you are a fraud.
I never have used Instagram, nor any other social media now, but I sure wouldn't want to do anything to change my (very homely) appearance. If I was to lie to anyone about how I really look, what does that say about my character? I'm 70, never have been anything like "pretty," and I look a lot like my late father. Dad was a handsome man, but his looks didn't translate well to his oldest child-daughter!
Many years ago there used to be a company called Glamour Shots. A woman would go in and they’d do her hair and makeup and provide some gorgeous clothes and take a bunch of photos. She’d come back two weeks later and almost always buy the whole packet, so thrilled at how she looked in those photos. These packets ran by today’s dollars maybe $1200 or $1500 that most of these women could ill afford. My friend worked there and had some amazing stories - women with terrible skin, thin hair and missing teeth just drooling over their movie star portraits. What were they thinking??????
just a few years ago people joked about Michael Jackson's nose and now so many want to have them...
I know many people are stupid but do they really think the rest of us are too? Some of these are so ridiculous
The vanity of these people is just mind blowing! Just be you. Being ugly is fine. Gotta have us ugly people or there is no pretty people.
I never post photos with filters unless the ones that are pretty obvious like the one with the tattoos or something like that. I made a little experiment once. Had a picture of me photoshopped and all. People went crazy. And I mean people who know me since I don't have randoms on any social media. It was very very weird.
I don't freaking get it mad who do these people think they're fooling it looks ridiculous and when people see them in real life they'll be like what the f***
We live in a society obsessed with appearances and in love with deception then we get upset because of fake news. It’s time to start honoring truth, reality and honesty if we want to live in a society that is healthy.
There is no such thing as an unaltered image. A camera is not an eye. The very act of taking a picture is itself an alteration.
That sounds nice in poststructuralist art deconstruction class at university, but in reality, I think we can all see that the above photos are extremely edited, and that's the point of the post. Not to critique photography per se. Thanks !
Load More Replies... Ha! I absolutely love these articles because they're HILARIOUS! People are getting dumber by the minute and this just proves it. And the fact you think taking a selfie from the internet in order to mock these people is "body shaming" makes it all the more hilarious. These people DESERVE to be mocked...often!
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