rachelarnold77@gmail.com
Extra! Extra! Read all about it! Fake news has officially replaced real news, and no one can tell the difference.
With the rise of social media and technology, the ability for individuals and companies to manipulate news stories and images has also increased. It is impossible to scroll through social media and not come across some sort of photo manipulation or fake news headline which is a sad reality. However, what's sadder is that not too many people seem to know the difference.
Photo Manipulation
As constant consumers of media, people thrive on looking their best on social media platforms. Users download apps on their phones such as FaceTune, BodyTune, and Airbrush which allows them to remove unwanted blemishes, add makeup, and completely change the look and appearance of every part of their bodies. However, photo manipulation didn't begin there nor does it stop there.
Source: YouTube FaceTune
Photo manipulation can be found in the highest form of advertising. For years, magazines have manipulated photos of men and women to give this false sense of perfection. This practice has carried over into news and photojournalism.
Driving Force
I believe the desire to create or produce perfect images is linked to the human desire to achieve some sort of notoriety. Where others recognize their art form, even in exchange for truth. As we continue to advance, this becomes more and more true. Especially in this generation of "viral content". The desire no longer is to produce quality content but instead, it has become to create or do something that goes viral, at any expense. Often times the truth.
Photo Source: Facebook
A New Kind of Photo Manipulation
Nowadays there is a "new" kind of photo manipulation. This kind of manipulation is even more harmful than the standard manipulations. Pictured above is an image taken of the St. Louis couple who pulled guns on a group of protesters who had entered their private community and were passing by their home on the way to protest outside the mayor's house. The protesters were there because the mayor had recently released the names and addresses of individuals calling for police reform during a live interview.
The photo is unedited in the sense of details; however, someone did add a circle to highlight an object one of the demonstrators is holding and added the text "The lamestream media never shows you this photo angle". They wanted people to think that one of the demonstrators had a gun drawn to justify the behavior of the couple.
This kind of photo manipulation is most harmful because the photo isn't edited in the standard editing sense, but rather taken from an angle that plays into the narrative of the manipulator. People all too often fall for these types of images especially when it justifies their way of thinking.
Critical Thinking
Upon initial review of the image, I immediately knew the image wasn't what the person was trying to make it out to be for several reasons.
- If the demonstrator had a gun, the cops likely would have been there and there would have been an arrest made.
- If the demonstrator was carrying a weapon it would have been in the news. This "angle" is not one that the (left or right) media would have left out.
- Lastly, if he was pointing a gun directly at that woman, the husband likely would have had his gun pointed directly back at the demonstrator. Instead, the husband's posture is that of someone guarding.
When you look closely, you can see that the "gun" the demonstrator is holding is a camera (the screen is on the right) and a shotgun microphone (left).
In the ever-changing social media world, people must apply critical thinking skills when evaluating images and reading articles. People need to have the ability to divide fact from fiction for their sake and at the end of the day for democracy sake. People should be able to ask the questions, challenge the system, and find out "what in the fake news is going on?"
Hi Rachel,
ReplyDeleteGreat work on your blog post, mine was on a very similar topic so it helped once I finished mine to see what others talked about! While I breifly mentioned the effect of manipulation on social media, you covered it more extensively and I think that was a great move. It is important to note what effect body image and self esteem can have on social media users. Especially with the readily available filters and editing tricks, many people begin to feel bad without filters on. I especailly liked your note at the end to show the critical thinking you go through to breakdown a photo and determine its validity. It helps to offer tips to readers to help them gain insight from your post. Awesome job!