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| Manipulated photo of Seattle Seahawks players. IR.net Pushing buttons and first impressions: When the image on the left side above went viral in 2017 public outcry was instant and vehement. Demands for retribution ranged from calls for the offending player, Michael Bennett, to be barred from the league to expulsion of the Seattle franchise altogether. When the untouched photo to the right made the rounds a short time later, some seemed so overcome by their initial outrage that the reality of the deception was an anticlimax, to say the least. I witnessed this emotional entropy first-hand after posting an image identical to the one above on a relative's Facebook page. Several puzzling comments like, 'They damn-well better not be burning a flag!' and 'Well, I won't be watching the Seahawks anyway,' showed the negative connotations already formed. A revolution of lowered expectations: In her 2012 article for The New York Times, Who Can Improve On Nature? Magazine Editors, author Christine Haughney argues that driven largely by the influence of technology, media consumers no longer expect accuracy in photographic images. People have come to expect a more heightened, or intensified version of the truth, she says. Again I recall personally following a Facebook thread where someone was dismissing images of local acid mine damaged waterways as manipulated. The person steadfastly disparaged the integrity of the photographer, the watershed restoration organization , and the important work that is being done, all without any evidence, or even ever having set foot in the region. It is much easier to dismiss anything that does not fit one's world-view than to spend the time and energy required to confirm the legitimacy of a story or image.  The Brain Has a Mind of Its Own: The manipulated image of the Seahawks players was effective for several reasons. It appealed to socially acceptable ideals of patriotism and respect, as well as deeper, usually unacknowledged or even sometimes unperceived racial fears and stereotypes that lie at at the very root of our culture. Ian Bogost wrote an article for the Atlantic in 2019 titled, Stop Trusting Viral Videos, where he explains that videos can take on a life of their own in which truth can become irrelevant. Popular videos, he says, often reproduce conflict viewers are already primed to seek out. The perceived image of black men violently disregarding the morals and standards of society struck chords of fear that were burned into the American psyche with D.W. Griffith's film, Birth of a Nation, in 1915 and exist to this day. As tools to divide the masses, racism, fear, and disinformation are as effective as any in human history.  Lilian Gish in Birth of a Nation. By: bbc.com Responsible Reporters and Consumers: The digital terrain is so nuanced and still relatively new that traditional concepts and approaches are often found inadequate. When the desire for truth is the core concern, tools can be developed to help navigate uncharted waters. Author Victoria Kwan, writing for firstdraftnews.org in 2019, presented new guides for this "tricky ethical terrain" in an article titled, How journalists can responsibly report on manipulated pictures and videos. Kwan discussed the challenges of interpreting a polluted information ecosystem filled with manipulated content and fakes, both shallow and deep. She stressed that her guide was less deigned to provide answers than to provide consistent questions to help navigate the online landscape for reporters, but the same skills are certainly needed to be an informed and independent consumer as well. Our social and mental health may depend upon it just as much as our democracy itself. |
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