Fact Check

Is This 'Sugar-Free Sugar' Bag Real?

Exactly what would a bag of sugarless sugar hold? And how would it taste?

Published July 2, 2018

Claim:
A photograph shows a bag of sugar bearing a "sugar free" label.

An image purportedly showing a bag of sugar with a "sugar free" label on its front has been making its way around the Internet since at least 2013, frequently titled "Schrodinger's Sugar":

This image reached a new online audience in April 2018 when it was posted by the "You Had One Job" account on Twitter.

The pictured bag of sugar contains a logo for the grocery chain Publix. That company's stores do sell Publix-branded sugar in identical packaging, with the notable exception of the "sugar free" label:

Whoever created this bag of "Schrodinger's Sugar" digitally edited a "sugar free" label onto a real photograph of a Publix brand bag of sugar. In fact, the same "sugar free" label can be found on stock photography web sites such as Shutterstock.

Here's a handy equation for how this fake image was created:

Dan Evon is a former writer for Snopes.