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Aug. 18, 2006
Photographs and lies
Editorial
The devastation in Lebanon is enormous though not as enormous
as we may have been led to believe.
A scandal is brewing over allegedly doctored photos that have been
disseminated through the world's most reliable wire services.
The Jerusalem Post reports that a Reuters photographer was
fired and 900 of his shots removed from their service. Other media
agencies, including the BBC, the New York Times and the Associated
Press "have been forced to recall photos or change captions
following inaccuracies pointed out in online forums."
Among the suspect photos are two that purportedly depict the same
woman crying over her destroyed home, two weeks apart and in different
locations. In another case, a photo of an Israeli plane was altered
to make it appear to be dropping bombs.
In a New York Times photo essay, a man who appears dead is
accompanied with a caption reading, "bodies were still buried
under the rubble." But, in a later photograph in the same series,
reports the Post, "the same man appears to be walking
in the foreground of a photo. The Times issued a correction
for the first photograph, stating that the man was injured."
There is a list of ongoing controversies over not only photographic
reporting but the journalism around this war more generally. And
while the old adage says that truth is the first casualty of war,
there should be an addendum where Israel is concerned. Throughout
the history of the six-decade struggle against the Jewish presence
in the Middle East, veracity has never been the top concern of Israel's
enemies. Israel, with one of the world's freest and most investigative
media, is accused of the basest inhumanity. Regardless of their
falsity, these stories, doctored photos and allegations impact the
world's attitude to the conflict.
One of the reasons the falsehoods have been purveyed non-stop for
58 years is because there have been few, if any, repercussions for
the perpetrators. In fact, judging by the world's willingness to
believe the most extreme assertions about Israel, while granting
jihadists the benefit of the doubt, lies work just as well as truth.
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