- McDonald's uploaded unretouched photos of food to its website alongside retouched photos - and the difference, in some cases, is shocking.
- The fast-food chain made tweaks like beefing up meat, smoothing out imperfections, and correcting colors.
- Customers have long criticized McDonald's for serving menu items that don't match the chain's advertising.
For years, customers have complained that McDonald's food doesn't match its advertising. One reason for the discrepancy is actually hidden in plain sight.
Business Insider has discovered that if you look at the details of many of the photos on McDonald's website, there is literally a layer called "retouched." Turning the layer on and off reveals what the already-stylized menu items looked like in the photo shoot - and what they look like after a round of Photoshop.
McDonald's has previously gotten in hot water for advertising foods that don't look like what's actually on the menu. In 2012, McDonald's Canada let a video crew record the hours of work that goes into a McDonald's photo shoot dedicated to making the food look good.
Even after beautifying the burgers, however, it seems there is another round of corrections to be made - and McDonald's blatantly included the fixes on its website.
McDonald's didn't immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.
Here are the captivating differences between original and retouched photos on McDonald's site.
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