The Best Group Selfie Award Goes To?

Claim:   Photograph shows a combined above-water and underwater group selfie.

FALSE

Example:   [Collected via Twitter, January 2015]

Origins:   In January 2015, an image titled "Best Group Selfie Award Goes To. .." seemingly showing a combined above-water and underwater group selfie shot was posted to the photo sharing site Imgur:

While the requirements to win the fictional "Best Group Selfie" award are unknown, the image displayed above would likely have been disqualified for unfairly employing digital manipulation. The man pictured at the front of the photo with his arm outstretched, known henceforth as "selfie-taker," does not appear in the original image:

Instagram user Luiz Amaral posted the photograph sans "selfie-taker" on 11 January 2015 from Ilhas Cagarras, an island near Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Some Internet users expressed doubt about the authenticity of that original image as well, claiming the underwater portion and the above-water portion were two separate photos. While this is possible, there is no evidence proving that to be the case. In fact, other photos posted by Amaral suggest its authenticity, as his Instagram account features several more images of the women on the boat, the men underwater, and even a few more group selfies: