An edited photo is falsely shared as an amazing picture of a golden snake - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
August 3, 2022
A photo is being shared on social media claiming it is an amazing real picture of a golden snake. Sharing the photo, this post asks people to see the golden snake on Naga Panchami to have good fortune. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Amazing picture of a golden snake.
Fact: The photo shared in the post is an edited picture created using digital tools. This golden snake photo was created by a Brazil-based designer named Mandrak. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On reverse image search of the photo shared in the post, the same photo was found in an article published by the ‘Wafflesatnoon’ website in December 2015. ‘Wafflesatnoon’ confirmed it as a digitally edited picture by crediting the photo to a designer named Mandrak.
When we searched for further details using relevant keywords on the internet, we found the same photo on the ‘Design Crowd’ website. This photo was published by Mandrak, a Brazil-based designer,  as part of the ‘Alternate Materials: Gold’, a photoshop community contest held by the ‘Design Crowd’ website. As part of this contest, participants were asked to convert any ordinary image into pure gold. This golden snake photo designed by Mandrak was ranked the second in the competition. The official portfolio of Mandrak published on the ‘Design Crowd’ website can be seen here. Mandrak published the same photo with the title, “Photoshop Submission for ‘Alternate Materials: Gold’ Contest | Design 8967763”.
The original picture from which this design was created can be seen here. Although there are a few reptile species that exist in golden colour, the photo shared in the post is an edited picture and does not show a real picture of a golden snake.
To sum it up, an edited photo is falsely shared as an amazing picture of a golden snake.