The photo of Cuban leader Fidel Castro holding a newspaper that was in Monday’s Eagle had a Photoshop quality to it — as if it had been pieced together on a computer. The photo came from Cuba’s Communist Youth newspaper’s online edition, and Associated Press included a disclaimer that it couldn’t verify the authenticity or the date the photo was shot.
Maybe the photo was authentic. But we’re pretty sure that these other two are fake.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
12 Comments
If it’s photoshopped, it’s a good job. I do like the shirt though. ;)
As for the other two…ROFL
Reuters is NOT the only media outlet that has been altering or photoshopping pictures.U.S. News had a front cover recently with a large fire in the background. The story line was that the fire came from a downed Israeli Airplane.Actually, the fire was a pile of used tires buring in a dump! This might not have been deliberate on the part of USNWR, but the staging of “fake” news footage is now an epidemic.The “ethics” of all reporters is currently in serious doubt until these problems are resolved.http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/
Good call, Paul. One of the best reflections on the implications of such technology is at http://www.tcsdaily.com/article.aspx?id=081406D – News You Can Abuse. lgp from Bloggin’ Outloud
Here is some more major media make believe:http://www.aish.com/movies/PhotoFraud.asp
And even more reasons to question everything the media shows us:http://www.zombietime.com/reuters_photo_fraud/
(The above makes clear that this scandal is not limited to Reuters)
lygnperry,
ROFLMAO! Your Tech Central Station does MUCH more “abuse” than Reuters, U.S. News, and many others combined.
TCS is a corporate funded PR and lobbying group. They happily spin and lie about climate change and other issues. Follow the links to follow the money,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tech_Central_Stationhttp://www.exxonsecrets.org/html/orgfactsheet.php?id=112http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Tech_Central_Station
People have been conditioned to believe photos, even though every good photographer has known how to take misleading photos almost since the beginning of photography. As someone who uses Photoshop on a daily basis, I know how powerful a program it is, and how easy it is to produce a convincing fraud with it, but it can also be a tool for producing more readable pictures for legitimate photojournalism too. In the end, it’s all about photojournalistic ethics.
Who changed Fidels face with mine? Dammit, I’m sueing!
As fake as crop circles, as ridiculous as flying saucers, as old as the Easter bunny, there will be people easily fooled by those who can fool them. In todays’ digital world, everything has to be taken with a grain of salt. It’s up to the individual to seperate the wheat from the chaff. Fool me once, etc, etc . . . or ask Bush, he’s the decider.
comsos,Thanks for the headsup on TCS. The column does raise some good general questions about “photoshopping” ability, I read it for that, not the Reuters incident per se. lgp
What is so interesting about the Castro photo is that the man who has so vociferously denounced capitalism, is wearing a VERY capitalist shirt–one with blatant capitalist advertising. Castro must be getting paid by Adidas under the table.
Hey, is there anyone up for boycotting Adidas, since that’s what Castro’s wearing now, instead of his signature military fatigue?