People will say that a picture is worth a thousand words but what if all of those words are written with bias or lies? With today’s editing equipment and computer software, changing a perspective or scene is not hard at all. People with even the smallest amount knowledge of how to use Photoshop can add or remove random people, objects or details of an image and then share them with the world. This can get dangerous when it comes to dealing with politics and public figures.
Some images can be harmless such as the funny face swap of Barrack and Michelle. Others however can be created in an attempt to campaign against the politician by slandering their image to a certain crowd such as the Obama kissing a man picture–this would of course make a homophobic community dislike him if they believed the image to be true. Sometimes they are created in attempt to make the politician look as though they are unloyal to the country, such as the turbine picture. Obviously wearing a turbine in itself would not suggest that he is a terrorist, but what this image is trying to imply is that Obama supports the extremist Muslim groups that are targeting America.
Photoshopping is not the only way to manipulate a scene. Lets say for example you are at an event in your hometown. Maybe it is a rally to raise money for your schools to get new textbooks or maybe it is a controversial protest of some sort. While you were there, you saw quite a large turn out and the event was generally beneficial towards your cause. A couple days later however, you see the recap in the newspaper or purchase online somewhere and all the headlines say “unsuccessful” or maybe even a “flop”. The pictures illustrate a small smattering of people, all of which seem rather uninterested. You know that these pictures were taken right at the end as the event was clearing out and all of these people were either tired or not even a part of the event. You wonder why they did not use one of the other thousand pictures you saw being taken wasn’t used instead. But then it hits you. Maybe this paper does not believe in the cause you were trying to support or maybe they are strongly opposed to the party hosting the event. Either way, that article is not accurate and you feel cheated.
Unfortunately this biased journalism and photojournalism happens quite frequently and often times people will believe the image simply because they think that pictures never lie. Photos, while they may capture some of the most gorgeous images and act as records for memories, can be manipulated into pictures of what the photographer WANTS you to see. Next time you are looking at coverage of an event, think to yourself, where is this new source coming from and what do they want me to believe. Then look at an opposite source and maybe you can eventually find a balance between the two stories through the opposing views in the images.