Kate Winslet is shown here at the 2007 Golden Globes. A brochure advertising the 2009 Liberal Democrats' conference (a British political party) uses a photo of Winslet from this event and falsely claims it shows her at the 2009 Liberal Democrats Council Awards.

World Entertainment News Network (www.wenn.com) reports that a British political party used fauxtography in their annual conference brochure. The doctored image shows Oscar Award-winning actress Kate Winslet giving an acceptance speech at the 2009 Liberal Democrats Council Awards. Problem: Winslet never attended this event!  (Hat tip: KVOS.com)

Winslet did appear at the 2007 Golden Globes, and that’s the photo of her that was overlaid into the Council Awards photo to create the fauxtograph.

A spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats told Wenn that “the image does not suggest Winslet supports the Liberal Democrats,” and said, “It was a humorous piece for a fairly low-key event.” StinkyJournalism.org disagrees. Any time a celebrity’s likeness is used in an ad campaign or brochure, consumers are led to believe the celebrity supports the cause.

Wenn.com confirmed that Winslet did not grant permission to use her photo, and her spokeswoman said, “They did not request permission to use the image and, so far, Kate has not been made aware of its use. I am not aware of her political position.”

This is deception by the Liberal Democrats. The photo should have been clearly labeled as a collage, or included a clarification that said Winslet did not attend the Council Awards and is not associated with or endorsing the party.