Militant Islam Monitor > Articles > Arab freelance fotog for Reuters propagandist for Hezbollah - doctored fotos of Israeli attacks - editor says 'it was to improve them not alter news'
Arab freelance fotog for Reuters propagandist for Hezbollah - doctored fotos of Israeli attacks - editor says 'it was to improve them not alter news'
August 8, 2006
MIM: On the BBC this morning the chief photo editor of Reuters expected to be patted on the back for their taking of quick action and 'transparency' while denying that freelance Adnan Haq wanted to make the attacks appear worse - and was simply 'trying to improve them as is standard practice in photo journalism'.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,,1839505,00.html
Reuters sacks freelancer over doctored photo
Duncan Campbell
Tuesday August 8, 2006
The Guardian
The photo, by Lebanese freelancer Adnan Hajj, had been altered so it showed more smoke than was in the original. The image was published on news websites on Saturday, but withdrawn after a number of bloggers suggested it showed signs of being doctored using Photoshop software. Reuters withdrew the altered image as soon as it became aware of the alteration.
"This represents a serious breach of Reuters' standards and we shall not be accepting or using pictures taken by him," Reuters spokeswoman Moira Whittle said in a statement issued in London.
"The photographer has denied deliberately attempting to manipulate the image, saying that he was trying to remove dust marks and that he made mistakes due to the bad lighting conditions he was working under."
Reuters has decided to withdraw all photos taken by Hajj after discovering that he also altered a photo of an Israeli F-16 warplane in action over Lebanon and supposedly firing missiles on August 2. Hajj has supplied pictures to Reuters for more than 10 years.
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