Is Seeing Believing

Is Seeing Believing?

Examples from Newspapers
See accompanying story: Lying with pictures

A QUESTION OF TRUTH: Photojournalism And Visual Ethics

Miami Spanish-language newspaper admits altering photos

June 17, 2009

What do you do if your pro-government rallies aren’t big enough?

Turn to Photoshop.

Copy a section of the photo, and fill in the empty spots with more people.

That’s what it looks like happened at a pro-Ahmadinejad rally.

A photo is making the rounds in the blogosphere and Twitter. It looks like it was first exposed on the website of an Iranian photographer, Mohammad Kheirkhah. He’s worked for several Iranian, British, and US news organizations. But he didn’t take the photo.
(Source)

A combo of pictures created on July 10, 2008, shows (L) a handout image released by Iranian daily Jamejam online edition on July 10, 2008, showing three missiles rising into the air while a fourth remains in the launcher on the ground during a test-firing in an undisclosed location in the Iranian desert on July 9, 2008, and (R) the same image released by the news website and public relations arm of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, Sepah News, on July 9, 2008, apparently digitally altered to replace the grounded missile and launcher with a fourth successfully launched missile rising into the air and a smoke cloud on the ground.

Source: AOL

Fox News has sunk to a new low. On Wednesday July 2, 2008, the network displayed photos that its editors had doctored of two New York Times employees--reporter Jacques Steinberg, and editor Steven Radcliffe. Media Matters has graciously provided us with the before-and-after evidence showing that Fox purposefully yellowed Steinberg's teeth, widened his nose and chin, and photo-shopped his ears stick out further.

In Ohio, A News Photograph Is Digitally Altered

Full story here

Closer look here

Photo of politico in IHOP apron was manipulated, says N&O

News 14 Carolina | Editor's Desk
(Source: Poynter.org 1/8/07)

The News & Observer says it should have told readers that a photo of embattled North Carolina Speaker of the House Jim Black wearing an IHOP apron was altered. UNC journalism prof Lois Boyton says: "I didn't particularly have a clue that this was, in any way, a manipulated photo. ...This really is an error and I think they did a good job of correcting that error. No doubt, there will be discussions in the newsroom to make sure that type of thing doesn’t happen again."

published photo

Photo before alterations

Original photo

http://es.news.yahoo.com/19102005/24/foto/secretary-of-state-condoleezza-rice-looks-on-during-joint-news.html

Altered Photo

See original story with USA apology

http://www.usatoday.com/news/
washington/2005-10-19-rice-congress_x.htm

see also Photo Ethics Elude USA Today
http://newsbusters.org/node/2490

Canadian Media Hoaxed By 'Tsunami' Photo

By Mark Fitzgerald

Published: January 03, 2005

CHICAGO It was easily the most dramatic photo of the many to emerge from the Indian Ocean tsunami, and the Calgary (Alb.) Herald gave it the kind of front-page play it deserved. The image dominates the page in the same way the massive, cresting wall of water appears poised to overwhelm the people scurrying in the path beneath it.

But almost immediately questions arose. For one thing, it looked nothing like any other images of the tsunami replayed constantly by the global media. One man appears in the photograph appears to be laughing. "Something wrong here," read the heading when it was e-mailed to E&P.

The Herald credit line on Dec. 30 read, "Photo courtesy of Dr. Joseph Edison," referring to the executive director of the Calgary-headquartered World Food and Job Bank. But in the age of ubiquitous tourist cameras, the fact that it was not circulated by a news organization would not necessarily raise any red flags.

As it turned out, though, the image Edison provided did not come from the tsunami. Instead, it shows a huge wave that resulted from a tidal surge in the Qiantangjiang River in China. The photo dates back to September 2002.

In a front-page item headlined "Apology" that ran the next day, Dec. 31, the Herald acknowledged the photo was not of a tsunami wave. "The media were incorrectly told this photo, along with others provided by the Calgary-based World Job and Food Bank, was from the recent tsunami disaster in south Asia," the Herald story read in part.

"Several media outlets, including the Calgary Herald, Global news and CFCN TV used the photos," the story added.

Herald Photo Editor Peter Brosseau declined to comment to E&P about the photo, directing a reporter to the Web account. Edison could not be reached immediately.

Daily Mirror Admits Photos Were Manipulated (May 2004)

Newspaper apologizes
for altered photo
July 2003

Altered Photo

LA Times Admits Its War Photographer
Altered Image
Read full story here

Digital Deception
How damaging is the threat of manipulating photos to the credibility of photojournalism?

See other Images of War

New York Post changes UN delegate's heads into animals

December 2000: In this single frame of a live video broadcast, the CBS emblem was digitally inserted during the New Year's Eve broadcast to conceal the NBC emblem on display in the background. The technology used is the same as what's been widely employed during the broadcast of sporting events to display advertisements on billboards.

Credit: Hany Farid, Dartmouth College

Source: CNet

In 1994, shortly before the much-anticipated women's figure skating competition at the Olympics, New York NEWSDAY published on its cover a photo composite. The image showed ice skating rivals Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding -- at the time embroiled in controversy following an attack on Kerrigan by an associate of Harding's husband -- appearing to practice together. On the bottom of the image, the headline read, "Tonya, Nancy to meet at practice." The caption -- in smaller type -- read: "Tonya Harding, left, and Nancy Kerrigan, appear to skate together in this New York Newsday composite illustration. Tomorrow, they'll really take to the ice together."

Read "What's Fair In Changing Photos?" by Mitchell Stephens

NOT SO FAST: A good example of 'Don't believe everything you read' is President Truman holding up the Chicago Daily Tribune for Nov. 3, 1948. An inexperienced staff had called the election too soon. The edition was recalled - without total success.
AP PHOTO/FILE