Posted on 09/28/2006 12:54:18 PM PDT by SmithL
The Government Press Office held a meeting with heads of foreign news agencies earlier this month to protest the doctoring of photographs of the recent Lebanon war and the ongoing conflict with the Palestinians, and warned them that action could be taken against them if this practice continued, The Jerusalem Post has learned.
The director of the Government Press Office, Danny Seaman, told the Post Israel reserved the right to act against any media outlets working out of Israel if they "fail to conduct themselves in a professional manner."
The foreign journalists' coverage of the Lebanon war was discussed, with the meeting focused on doctored photographs used by news agencies, Seaman said.
"This was something new to the world, but we've seen it before," he said. "We expect them to take precautions in the future. If they are not taking the necessary measures to maintain professional standards then we reserve the right to take action against their offices in Israel."
The GPO cannot act directly against foreign press services, but it can make recommendations to the Communications, Foreign and Defense ministries, Seaman said.
The only action taken by the government against the news agencies during the recent war was to send complaints to their main offices.
Seaman spoke of staged photos from the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, such as people standing in front of destroyed homes and falsely claiming ownership and instances in which photographers asked people to "recreate" reported incidents. He also said Palestinian photographers would sometimes tell children to throw rocks or have adults carry children pretending to be injured.
He also referred to photos making damage in Lebanon appear worse than it actually was.
After American Web blogs publicized the doctoring of a Reuters photograph, Reuters fired the freelance photographer and removed all his photos from its archives. The photograph showed a smoky, bombed area in southern Beirut. While the area had been hit in IAF air raids, the photographer added billows of smoke and additional damage to buildings using computer-imaging technology.
Reuters said it took the matter seriously and that its policy was not to alter photos.
Seaman said he had met with the bureau chiefs of Reuters, The Associated Press and the Foreign Press Association in his Jerusalem office to discuss actions that he described as "fueling anti-Israel sentiment."
All the bureau chiefs were barred from commenting on the meeting by their organizations.
Speaking on behalf of AP, international editor John Daniszewski said if one of their photographers was caught doctoring photographs, he would be fired immediately.
"I heard about it in regard to the Reuters stringer," he said in a phone interview from New York. I think they're trying to tar everyone with the same brush.
He said both Israelis and Palestinians often criticized the way they were covered, but that the agency had its own "gold standards" of accuracy and fairness to meet.
"It's such a contentious part of the world and other organizations and parties are going to want to pull coverage into one area or another," said Daniszewski. "We try to go straight down the middle. If anyone wants to raise issues, we are always willing to talk about it."
Ping!
Good!! Fauxtography in NEWS items is very bad.
Rathered photography?
I was under the impression that news organizations are in business to report the news. Why would they not want their bureau chief's commenting on this issue? This is news.
Forgot the LGF link, sorry:
http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=21956_Reuters_Doctoring_Photos_from_Beirut&only
AP if full of it. What about their Al Qaida photographer, Bilal Hussein? Is he an example of the Associated (with Al Qaida's) Press's high standards? We're holding him prisoner as we would any other jihadist helper.
bttt
What? They've never heard of professional criminals or professional thieves? Carlos the Jackal's double-taps weren't up to professional standards?
Fauxtojournalists are not amateurs, but are well-paid, going to greater extremes and working harder than ever before to get their comrades' desired results.
HF
Links are in chronological order.
RECAPS:
Excellent Video recap by aish.com
Excellent Video recap by Michelle Malkin
CNN's Anderson Copper Admits to seeing staging plus Germany TV video catches Green Helmet in the Act
The Corruption of the Media A lengthy, comprehensive review of Fauxtography at Qana by EU Referendum
ISSUE 1, STAGING OF PHOTOS:
"Milking it" (Critical look at Qana photos)
"Hezbollywood? Evidence mounts that Qana collapse and deaths were staged"
"Who is this Man?" (Green Helmet)
"The truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth" (Green Helmet & Co, show up in Tyre)
"Reuters calls the doctor, take 2" (Powerline blog exposes yet another suspect group of photos same damage reported as new 12 days apart)
"Extreme Makeover - Beirut Edition" (Drinking from Home exposed more photos. This time, the same woman is shown losing her home first in Southern Beirut on 7/22 and then in the "suburbs of Beirut" on 8/5)
"Shaking the Dead" (Confederate Yankee shows staged photos of a "rescue worker" grasping a hand protruding from the rubble for both Reuters and AP)
"The Passion of the Toys" (Slublog has a collection of all the posed stuffed animals among the ruble)
"Lights, Camera, Action!" ICRC Posing with bodies
Green Helmet the movie director [Germany's NDR busts him in the act]
ISSUE 2, DOCTORING OF PHOTOS
Little Green Footballs uncovered an obviously doctored photo by Hajj (Beirut Smoke)
It was quickly picked up here on FR
Reuters admits the first photo (Beirut smoke) was doctored and suspended Hajj
A second doctored photo (F16) was identified by Jawa
ISSUE 3: MISLEADING CAPTIONS:
New York Times Busted in Hezbollah Photo Fraud!
More Reuters Fauxtography [Caption Correction Issued]
a Hezbollah terrorist with 2 AK47s and weating Camo is simply called a "man" by AP
bump
...but AP's policy of photographing staged scenes will continue as normal.
...At least not use altered photos that are doctored that poorly....
| discovered by Jawa Report | ||
| doctored photo | highlights of cloning in photo | |
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| discovered by various sources same neighborhood detroyed twice? |
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| CAPTION: Journalists are shown by a Hizbollah guerrilla group the damage caused by Israeli attacks on a Hizbollah stronghold in southern Beirut, July 24 2006. (Adnan Hajj/Reuters) | CAPTION: A Lebanese woman looks at the sky as she walks past a building flattened during an overnight Israeli air raid on Beirut's suburbs August 5, 2006. (Adnan Hajj/Reuters) | |
| discovered by Drinking From Home Blog same woman has home destroyed twice? |
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| CAPTION: A Lebanese woman wails after looking at the wreckage of her apartment, in a building, that was demolished by the Israeli attacks in southern Beirut July 22, 2006. REUTERS/Issam Kobeisi | CAPTION: A Lebanese woman reacts at the destruction after she came to inspect her house in the suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Aug. 5, 2006, after Israeli warplanes repeatedly bombed the area overnight.(AP Photo/Hussein Malla) | |
| From Aug 2, 2006 AP Story | |
| Headline: | Heavy Equipment Used to Bury the Dead |
| Story lead-in | BAALBEK, Lebanon -- People in a village outside this Hezbollah stronghold used a front-end loader's scoop to carry away some of the dead Wednesday after a night of Israeli airstrikes and a commando raid inside Baalbek that residents said killed at least 15 civilians... |
| Accompanying photo | Accompanying photo of one man in a bulldozer's scooper has since been removed. However, this other photo of one man in a scoop is still posted: |
| discovered by Little Green Footballs | ||
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| original caption: | corrected caption: | |
| A Relative carries the body of Rajaa Abu Shaban, into Shifa hospital in Gaza City, Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2006. An Israel air strike against Islamic militants in Gaza City on Wednesday killed three people, including 5-year-old Rajaa Abu Shaban, and wounded two more, Palestinian officials and witnesses said. The Israeli army said its forces attacked a 'terrorist training camp' in Gaza, but gave no further details. (AP photo/Adel Hana) | On Thursday, doctors said that the 5-year-old Palestinian girl initially believed to have been killed by an Israeli military strike Wednesday apparently died after sustaining head injuries during a fall from a swing in the same area shortly before the strike.(AP Photo/Adel Hana) | |
| discovered by Gateway Pundit | ||
NY Times photo and caption of "dead young man" with shorts and a baseball cap (under his arm) The mayor of Tyre said that in the worst hit areas, bodies were still buried under the rubble, and he appealed to the Israelis to allow government authorities time to pull them out. (Photo Tyler Hicks The New York Times) |
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| additional photos from same NYT series. Can you spot the "dead guy" (with shorts & b-ball cap) at the right of each photo? | ||
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| discovered by EU Referendum | ||
| photos of green helmet guy parading corpses after Israeli airstrike in Qana | ||
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| discovered by Germany's NDR: | ||
Was this the same Green Helment Guy parading corpses around in Qana in 1996?? |
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| Watch German video of Green Helmet Guy parading the dead bodies and directing cameras at what to record. | ||
| Sample screen-captures here: | ||
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