Photo of man defecating at gas station ‘photoshopped,’ says former Brampton MP

The photo of a man using a gas station as a bathroom in Brampton is “photoshopped,” according to a former Liberal MP.

The image has been making the rounds on social media websites like Reddit and X, formerly Twitter, and comes just days after similar posts that claimed people defecating on Ontario beaches were shot down as fake.

Showing an Indian man allegedly defecating outside a gas station in Brampton, former Liberal MP Raj Grewal says he’s the property owner and claims the incident never happened.

“I own this property. This DID NOT happen, it’s photoshopped,” reads part of the post by Grewal adding that the poster should “do better.”

The poster in question was Harrison Faulkner of conservative online news outlet True North, who previously visited Brampton “to see Canada’s mass immigration crisis first hand” in a YouTube video called “Is this Canada or India? Exploring Brampton, Ontario.”

Faulkner said sarcastically that the photo was an example of how “Mass immigration is totally working” in Canada and challenged Grewal to “prove” the image was altered, with various internet sleuths on both sides of the argument providing proof for why they believe it’s either fake or authentic.

Some users are calling the posts “disinformation” while others say the alleged act is “repulsive” with calls to “deport” the man.

INsauga.com has run the photo through multiple photo analysis applications, and while not 100 per cent accurate, found no evidence of digital manipulation.

A spokesperson for Peel Regional Police said the force is aware of the photo but couldn’t immediately confirm whether the incident had been reported. INsauga.com has reached out to Grewal for comment but no response was received before publication.

I own this property. This DID NOT happen, it’s photoshopped. Do better @Harry__Faulkner https://t.co/5i7Bk2tvq7

— Raj Grewal (@RajLiberal) July 30, 2024

If the photo does turn out to be altered, it would be the second time in as many weeks that claims of people pooping in public have been quashed in Ontario.

The mayor of Wasaga Beach has denounced posts calming individuals have been defecating on the beach, saying the social media complaints “lack evidence and promote misinformation.”

An Ontario landlord advocate has also questioned the authenticity of a viral rental ad offering reduced rent for a “Friends-with-benefits relationship” with “an Indian boy,” saying the posts may be a case of someone “rage baiting” against South Asians.

Grewal left the federal Liberal caucus in 2018 and in 2020 was charged with four counts of breach of trust and one count of fraud over $5,000. The Crown alleged that Grewal offered access to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and help with immigration files in exchange for large loans that went toward his gambling debt.

The former Liberal MP was acquitted and is seeking millions of dollars in damages from the RCMP and the Ontario attorney general.