This is believable. I have a personal anecdote regarding "Priority Delivery". This was about 2 years ago. After watching the driver go to another business and house before me, I messaged support and they refunded this priority delivery fee. The driving tip and base pay accusation can be easily verified by testing tip amounts and asking drivers what they are awarded.
I would call it an illusion because if you pay attention you can clearly see that the color you perceive isn't actually present. You can see white on an RBG computer screen since your eyes simply don't have the resolution to discern the subpixel colors. However, in a dithered image with only black and white, you perceive gray, but you can also tell what the reality is without much effort. Personally, I think that fits the definition of an illusion.
This is a powerful visual representation. I would suggest that the impact could be even stronger if you provided side-by-side images of 50 Cent, where the second is scaled up proportionately.
To want to cleanse references to "Indigenous motifs or symbolism" as a community value brings about a touch of shame in me. It mostly weakens cultural memory and the ability of later generations to stay connected to the worldviews that these motifs carry. Taking away the symbols is like taking away the memory-keeping. Without them, it's much easier to forget the culture.