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In today's ever-changing landscape of media, an overwhelming number of news outlets make it easy for truth and credibility to fall by the wayside. This is especially true in the depths of the Internet and social media, which many consumers look to for their news.
The phenomenon of fake or inaccurate news encompasses photojournalism as well. Staged and manipulated photos being shared on the Internet makes it difficult to decipher the truth behind an image.
How the Truth is Hidden?
There are many ways to doctor an image to depict a story one wants to tell as opposed to the reality of the scene. According to the article "Staging, Manipulation and Truth in Photography" digital photo manipulation and staged photographs are two of the biggest culprits in producing fake images.
Technology has made the tools to digitally alter photos easy and accessible. Photographers, journalists, and media can edit out, add-in, or enhance a scene to better fit the story they want to tell the public.
Furthermore, staged photos are just as harmful to the truth of an image. In the article "Staging, Manipulation, and Truth in Photography," Santiago Lyon, vice president of photography for The Associated Press, says "there is another type of image manipulation -- when a photographer orchestrates a scene to fit his or her narrative by asking the subject(s) to do things they would not ordinarily do, or by asking them to repeat things they were doing prior to the photographer's arrival."
Fake Photos in Action
In the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic, consumers look to many media outlets, including social media, for important updates. However, not all of this information is truthful.
Images of dolphins and swans swimming in the "Venice canals" went viral at the beginning of the pandemic. These images sparked discussions on how the world slowing down positively affected nature.
These images and the story behind them, however, proved to be false. Although the photographs and videos had not been altered, the information explaining them had been.
"Fake Animal News Abounds on Social Media as Coronavirus Upends Life"
National Geographic
The swans were not an unusual occurrence but instead a regular appearance in the canals of Burano. The video of the dolphins was taken not in the Venice canals but at the port of Sardinia in the Mediterranean Sea.
The article "Fake Animal News Abounds on Social Media as Coronavirus Upends Life" explains how the desire for good news was the propelling force behind these images' momentum and popularity. Erin Vogel, a physiologist at Stanford University, says, "These fake-feel good stories can make people even more distrustful at a time when everyone already feels vulnerable. Finding out good news isn't real can be even more demoralizing than not hearing it at all."
Images tell compelling stories, but as these examples show they can be manipulated to obscure the truth or promulgate falsehoods.
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