Of course the message was driven home, with comments from others on the net saying things like "I don't know what to believe anymore" and "And there are people who still fall for this stuff!", but soon enough, others tried their hands at editing the pic with the same app, and even turned things into a competition to see just how cute they could make the original picture. Needless to say, the results were spectacularly kawaii.

A classic cutesy eye-patch to throw you off the scent!

A step-by-step in catfishing--punctuated with a heart.

Add makeup and it's a whole new ballgame.

A "drooping eyes" edit.

With a mask it's just unfair.

Shrink the face to make the posterchild for "moe!"

Never go full anime

Are you going to say "no" to a cat?

Love and Peace

"Your smiles always bring me happiness."

While not every user identified the app used to touch up the original selfie, at least one used Beautyplus, a smart phone application that allows you to remove acne, add vibrancy to your skin, and essentially give yourself a virtual face-lift via a variety of filters.

While some of the alterations are clearly a bit of an exaggeration, all it takes is a quick perusal of a few Japanese online-dating (出会い系) sites to reveal that these techniques aren't exactly uncommon. Many such sites are filled with dating impostors, who are typically paid to string along naive men and women with fake pictures and promises of meeting that never come to fruition. Independent con-artists ask for iTunes cards and other such gifts as they attract followers and set up elaborate blogs. So even if done in jest, it's not a bad idea to remind people of how this can go down.

If anything, the initial Tweet and the responses of other users doubling-down on the artificial aesthetics is just a reminder of the age we live in. As technology becomes more and more impressive, the tools of those with not-so-kind intentions become more powerful weapons.

But hey, at least you can make yourself look like a super cute anime chick.