Influencer’s ‘fake’ photo brutally exposed

Oh Instagram, you never fail to amaze us with your stunning landscape photographs, impressive workout videos and "food porn".

But a recent post on the social media platform has reminded us that not everything that's shared is exactly as it seems.

A wannabe Instagram star has been exposed for posting a "fake" photo of herself on a hike by her very own sister, who revealed the truth behind the shot.

Casey Sosnowski shared this snap - that shows her with her arms out wide, holding a water bottle rocking figure-hugging activewear and a huge smile - along with the caption: "Nature is the ultimate healer to all our problems," adding the hashtag: "#Naturelovers."

She then tagged herself in at Lake Okahumpka Park and Trail in Florida.

But despite appearing to be about to embark on a gruelling walk, the exercise science student's sister Carly Sosnowski took to Twitter to share the truth behind the motivational photo.

Alongside a screenshot of Casey's photo, which shows it pulled in likes and comments from those thrilled by the apparently adventurous picture - Carly shared her own, brutally laying bare the lengths her sister went to in order to achieve the perfect Insta-worthy photo.

In it, Casey can be seen posing as someone else snaps her photo, seemingly unaware Carly is secretly photographing the behind-the-scenes goings on from across the way.

"My sister said she was going hiking … this is our backyard," she said.

The tweet quickly went viral, pulling in 275k likes and over 40k retweets as of Saturday afternoon, many of them mocking the "ridiculous" behaviour.

Others shared their tales of being fed a lie on Instagram, stating why they don't trust content shared on it anymore.

Several were also impressed by the size of the backyard, saying that, actually, it looks a lot like a hiking spot.

Casey responded to her sister, saying she felt "personally attacked," before updating her Instagram picture to coyly suggest that, yes, this was her backyard.

"Did I go hiking? No. Is this my backyard? … Maybe," she wrote, along with a winking-eye emoji.

Casey, who currently has 4500 followers, regularly shares her life online, with her recent posts including a bikini-clad snap from her July 4 celebrations.

But we're guessing she won't make that mistake again anytime soon.

Continue the conversation @RebekahScanlan | rebekah.scanlan@news.com.au