US Weekly and the KStew Scandal

I feel so dirty about this, but I can't help it. The scandal of Kristen Stewart cheating on Robert Pattinson has me hooked - not because I have any interest in the actors or, God forbid, the Twilight series, but because of the fascinating way the tabloids are manipulating their consumers.

Here's my favourite theory (okay, conspiracy theory). This is the photograph that started the whole thing, splashed across the July 27 edition of US Weekly and revealed online on July 24.

Rabid "Robsten" fans quickly noticed the distortion where Stewart's right ear should be, indicating the face has been heavily Photoshopped. They spent the rest of the week accusing US Weekly of making the whole thing up by superimposing Stewart's face onto the body of Rupert Sanders' wife, Liberty Ross.

But by the time the magazine hit the shelves that Friday, the photographer had released all 50 of the original photographs, including the infamous cover shot:

That's undeniably Kristen Stewart, and this time her ear is right where it's supposed to be - beneath her hair, being kissed by Rupert Sanders.

So why did US Weekly alter the picture for the cover?

One answer is they were simply emphasising Stewart's face to grab people's attention. As anyone who has created a user icon for Twitter will tell you, faces can look distorted and weird when you shrink a photograph; and US Weekly needed random people at the supermarket to recognise Stewart just by glancing at the cover.

Or maybe - just maybe! - US Weekly used the altered photograph as a trap.

Twilight fans are some of the most dedicated and emotionally-invested fans you'll find anywhere, and a large number of them are intensely protective of the idea of Rob Pattinson and Kristen Stewart being in love in real life, not just on-screen as Edward and Bella.  

US Weekly had to be aware of how upset those fans would be when this news came out. Teenage girls spent a good four days panicking over the couple and venting their rage at the tabloids, until they were as much a part of the story as the actors themselves. And the uncertainty caused by that Photoshopped picture is a big reason why the rumours kept going as long as they did.

It would not surprise me at all if US Weekly planned to make the story go viral by luring fans into thinking it was a hoax, only to heighten the devastation - and the potential for ridicule - when it all proved to be true.