If you follow conservative blogs then you are already aware of Reuters being caught red-handed doctoring at least one photo of an alleged attack on Beirut. If you have not seen the photo, here it is:
For those who are not familiar with Photoshop, there is a tool that lets you copy a piece of a picture and paste it in other places. In this case, the smoke was copied and pasted to make it look much larger than it really is.
There is no need to believe me or the other bloggers as Reuters has admitted that the picture has been doctored and have attempted to 'kill' the photo (but the Yahoo news link of the photo is still active. Just click the photo above for the Yahoo page).
PICTURE KILL FOR LBN20 TRANSMITTED AT APPROXIMATELY 1408GMT ON AUGUST 5, 2006. PHOTO EDITING SOFTWARE WAS IMPROPERLY USED ON THIS IMAGE. A CORRECTED VERSION WILL IMMEDIATELY FOLLOW THIS ADVISORY. PLEASE REMOVE THE IMAGE FROM YOUR SYSTEMS. WE ARE SORRY FOR ANY INCONVENIENCE. REUTERS LBN20 Smoke billows from burning buildings destroyed during an overnight Israeli air raid on Beirut's suburbs August 5, 2006. Many buildings were flattened during the attack. REUTERS/Adnan Hajj (LEBANON) REUTERS NEWS PICTURES - Reuters (Yahoo News Page)
In addition to the fake smoke, it seems the description is a little off too.Many buildings were flattened during the attack.Do you see ANY buildings flattened in that photo?
There is lots of discussion on the fakery on the following sites listed below.
There is one important issue to remember in all of this. In most cases, mistakes and fraud are not caught the first time around. In the case of a mistake, the person/s making the mistakes tend to repeat them until the error of their ways is discovered.
In the case of Fraud, the fraudster/s is/are doing a deliberate and dishonest act. They are not content to only do the fraud once and tend to repeat the fraudulent tactics as long as they are useful or they are discovered as in this case.
Now the fun begins, because this is certainly not the first time a Reuters photograph has been doctored. There has been lots of discussion about the photos of Quna, Lebanon being staged and now they have a confirmed case of fraud as confirmation that the reporting from the region is far from honest.
Now an army of people will be checking not only the current photos being released by Reuters, but also as many historical photographs as they can get their hands on, starting with all the photos taken by the photographer of this image, Adnan Hajj. Reuters is certainly not the only organization that will now come under this increased scrutiny. They all will. The real problem for them is that they cannot undo the fakery. It is all out there just waiting to be discovered. Surely, there is more to be found and now people know what to look for. It's just a matter of time before other cases are discovered.
Now the fun begins, because this is certainly not the first time a Reuters photograph has been doctored. There has been lots of discussion about the photos of Quna, Lebanon being staged and now they have a confirmed case of fraud as confirmation that the reporting from the region is far from honest.
Now an army of people will be checking not only the current photos being released by Reuters, but also as many historical photographs as they can get their hands on, starting with all the photos taken by the photographer of this image, Adnan Hajj. Reuters is certainly not the only organization that will now come under this increased scrutiny. They all will. The real problem for them is that they cannot undo the fakery. It is all out there just waiting to be discovered. Surely, there is more to be found and now people know what to look for. It's just a matter of time before other cases are discovered.
This one example is just the tip of the iceberg.
I enjoy this discovery since it confirms a post I wrote on July 26th in that the press photographers are complicit in passing on fraud as authentic news and are colluding with those creating this propaganda (in some cases even with terrorists) for distribution around the world.
Hamas: Child Abuse - Staged? - FFI
Be sure to check out the post as it includes a video documenting fraud by Hamas as well as active participation by members of the press.
Hamas: Child Abuse - Staged? - FFI
Be sure to check out the post as it includes a video documenting fraud by Hamas as well as active participation by members of the press.
Update: 7 August 2006
Not surprisingly, another photo taken by Adnan Hajj has been pulled by Reuters. The 'missiles' in the picture are nothing more than copies of 1 flare that was launched by the F-16. For those who are not aware, flares are for defense. This fakery was discovered by Jawa Report.
See the explanation here: "Another Fake Photo from Lebanon" - Jawa Report
More detailed coverage here:
Reuters Doctoring Photos from Beirut? - Little Green Footballs
PICTURE KILL - Reuters / Yahoo News
Original Picture Post - Reuters / Yahoo News
Where there's smoke, there's Photoshop? - Michelle Malkin
The worst photoshop I’ve ever seen - Hot Air
Odd photo from Lebanon - Sports Shooters.com
Reuters Doctoring Beirut Photos - Jawa Report
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