The Adnan Hajj photographs controversy (also called Reutersgate) involves photographs taken by Adnan Hajj, a Lebanese freelance photographer based in the Middle East, who had worked for Reuters over a period of more than 10 years. Hajj's photographs were presented as part of Reuters' news coverage of the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict, but Reuters have admitted that at least two were significantly doctored before being published.[1][2]
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Timeline
The first image was discovered on August 5, 2006 when blogger Charles Johnson of Little Green Footballs wrote that the first image "shows blatant evidence of manipulation" (Adobe Photoshop clone stamp),[3][1] Reuters "killed" the 'photograph' and released a statement that stated Hajj claimed to not have intentionally altered the photo but was trying to remove "dust marks"[4]. Reuters did not stand by the photographer and admitted that Hajj had altered it, saying "photo editing software was improperly used on this image. A corrected version will immediately follow this advisory. We are sorry for any inconvenience."[5] Head of PR Moira Whittle said: "Reuters takes such matters extremely seriously as it is strictly against company editorial policy to alter pictures."[5] The second manipulated image was reported by the pseudonymous blogger "Rusty Shackleford" of the blog "My Pet Jawa".[6] Reuters captioned it as showing an Israeli F-16 fighter jet firing ground-attack missiles "during an air strike on Nabatiyeh", but the F-16 was actually deploying defensive flares and the original photograph showed only one flare.[7] Bloggers also found two photographs by Hajj that appear to show the same scene of destruction, with a distinctive building in the middle background. The Reuters caption on one said "journalists are shown by a Hizbollah guerrilla group the damage caused by Israeli attacks on a Hizbollah stronghold in southern Beirut, July 24 2006" and the other depicted a "Lebanese woman ...[walking] past a building flattened during an overnight Israeli air raid on Beirut's suburbs 5 August 2006."[8] Another blogger found a photograph by Hajj which showed a woman whose apartment he claimed was destroyed by an Israeli bomb on July 22, and another photograph, apparently of the same woman, whose house Hajj claimed was destroyed on August 5.[9] On August 6, Reuters announced it would stop all cooperation with Adnan Hajj.[10]. Hajj claimed he had just been trying to remove dust marks, and that he made mistakes due to the bad lighting conditions he was working under. Critics point out that this is impossible, as Hajj's doctored image added an entire plume of smoke, duplicated several buildings, and showed a repeating pattern indicating that one plume of smoke was "cloned" several times.[11][12] On August 7, Reuters decided to withdraw all 920 photos by Hajj from sale.[10] As of 10 March, 2007, Reuters still had several images by Hajj on its websites,[13][14] including one taken in Lebanon in February 2006.[15] On January 18 2007 Reuters reported that an internal investigation into the Adnan Hajj photomanipulation had led to a top Reuter photo editor being fired.[16] The charges against Hajj took place within a larger context of many allegations about misleading photographs coming out of the Israel-Lebanon conflict; see 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict photographs controversies. These allegations included charges that Hajj also staged photographs, including images of a rescue worker retrieving the body of a child killed in Israel's bombardment of Qana.[17]
See also
- Media Coverage of the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict
- Arab-Israeli conflict
- Jenin Massacre
- Ouze Merham
- Pallywood
- Photo manipulation
References
- ^ a b "Reuters toughens rules after altered photo affair", Reuters, 2007-01-18.
- ^ "Smoke and Mirrors: Reuters Dismisses Photog Over Doctored Beirut Picture", Editor and Publisher, August 6, 2006. Retrieved on 2006-08-07.
- ^ Reuters Doctoring Photos from Beirut?. Little Green Footballs (August 5, 2006). Retrieved on 2006-08-07.
- ^ Lucas, Dean (2007). Famous pictures magazine - Altered Images (HTML). famous pictures. Retrieved on 2007-10-03.
- ^ a b "Reuters admits altering Beirut photo". Ynetnews (August 6, 2006). Retrieved on 2006-08-07.
- ^ Another Fake Reuters Photo from Lebanon. The Jawa Report (August 6, 2006). Retrieved on 2006-08-07.
- ^ "Reuters admits to more image manipulation". Ynetnews (August 7, 2006). Retrieved on 2006-08-07.
- ^ Reuters calls the doctor, take 2. Power Line (August 6, 2006). Retrieved on 2006-08-07.
- ^ Extreme Makeover - Beirut Edition. Drinking From Home (August 6, 2006). Retrieved on 2006-08-08.
- ^ a b "Reuters drops Beirut photographer", BBC, August 8, 2006. Retrieved on 2006-10-10.
- ^ Al-Reuters Doctors War Photos In Lebanon Captain's Quarters, 5 August 2006
- ^ Bad Photoshopping saves the day LAYOUT editor's blog, 14 August 2006
- ^ Google search for "site:reuters.com REUTERS/Adnan Hajj" (finds several photographs of the 2006 FIFA World Cup)
- ^ Search on Reuters website for "Adnan Hajj" (4 hits as of 10 March 2007)
- ^ Photograph by Adnan Hajj. "A Lebanese Muslim Shi'ites man talks on his mobile", Reuters, 9 February 2006. Retrieved on 2007-03-10.
- ^ Daryl Lang. "Reuters Investigation Leads To Dismissal Of Editor", Photo District News, January 18, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-01-18.
- ^ Kathleen Parker (August 9, 2006). Manipulating History. Chicago Tribune.
External links
- Photo Fraud in Lebanon on Aish.com
- The Reuters Photo Scandal]
- "Digital Tampering in the Media, Politics and Law". Recent history of media photo manipulation. Hany Farid, associate professor, University of Massachusetts. Last accessed August 7, 2006.
- "Institutional Failure at Reuters" by Thomas Lifson for Yahoo! News, August 7, 2006 (alternate link).
- "Reuters' Image Problem" by Brendan Bernhard in the LA Weekly online, August 9, 2006.
