CBS puts Katie Couric on a digital diet -- and that's just one of many recent instances of image trickery.
-
The photo on the right isn't exactly what it appears to be -- nor are the other images that follow in this photo gallery. All were manipulated beyond straightforward cropping of edges or lightening shaded areas. Often they have a key element inserted or deleted.
An image of Katie Couric, originally released in May by CBS, was slimmed down for reuse. The left photo is the official first-pic-of-Katie released by CBS. (TVNewser posted it in May.) The doctored photo on the right appears in the September issue of Watch magazine, which is owned by CBS, according to Mediabistro.com, which first reported on the alteration.
Credit: CBS
Related: Smoking out photo hoaxes with software -
August 2006: This photograph by Adnan Hajj, a Lebanese photographer, showed thick black smoke rising above buildings in the Lebanese capital after an Israeli air raid. The Reuters news agency initially published the photograph on its Web site, then withdrew it when it became evident that the original image had been manipulated to show more and darker smoke.
"Hajj has denied deliberately attempting to manipulate the image, saying that he was trying to remove dust marks and that he made mistakes due to the bad lighting conditions he was working under," said Moira Whittle, head of Reuters public relations. "This represents a serious breach of Reuters' standards and we shall not be accepting or using pictures taken by him."
A second photograph by Hajj was also deteremined to have been doctored.
Credit: Dartmouth.edu
Related: Smoking out photo hoaxes with software -
August 2006: Nathan Noy, a rival of Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-Ohio), contends that this picture on Schmidt's Web page showing her at a 1993 marathon has been doctored. The photo shows Schmidt near the finish line with the time clock showing 3:19:06. But a newspaper listing of race results does not include Schmidt's name.
Joseph Braun, an attorney representing Schmidt, denied that the photograph is fake. He produced what he said was an official race results book, listing Schmidt as the fifth-place finisher in her age group with a time of 3:19:09. A four-member commission panel ruled that there was enough evidence to look into the complaint.
Credit: Dartmouth.edu
Related: Smoking out photo hoaxes with software -
March 2005: This Harper's cover, taken at Parris Island, S.C., shows seven Marines lined up in their T-shirts, shorts and socks. The picture accompanied a story about soldiers who go AWOL (absent without leave). The soldiers depicted in the picture, however, were not AWOL.
The picture was supplied by Getty Images as a stock photograph. "We are decorating pages," said Giulia Melucci, the magazine's vice president for public relations. "We are not saying the soldiers are AWOL. Our covers are not necessarily representative."
Credit: Dartmouth.edu
Related: Smoking out photo hoaxes with software -
December 2000: In this single frame of a live video broadcast, the CBS emblem was digitally inserted during the New Year's Eve broadcast to conceal the NBC emblem on display in the background. The technology used is the same as what's been widely employed during the broadcast of sporting events to display advertisements on billboards.
Credit: Dartmouth.edu
Related: Smoking out photo hoaxes with software -
Pictured here is a digital composite of a British soldier in Basra, gesturing to Iraqi civilians urging them to seek cover, that appeared in April 2003 on the front page of the Los Angeles Times shortly after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. Brian Walski, a staff photographer for the Los Angeles Times and a 30-year veteran of the news business, was fired after his editors discovered that he had combined two of his photographs to "improve" the composition.
Credit: Dartmouth.edu
Related: Smoking out photo hoaxes with software -
This digital composite of Olympic ice skaters Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan appeared on the cover of New York Newsday in February 1994. The picture showed the rivals practicing together, shortly after an attack on Kerrigan by an associate of Harding's husband. The picture caption reads: "Tonya Harding, left, and Nancy Kerrigan, appear to skate together in this New York Newsday composite illustration. Tomorrow, they'll really take to the ice together."
Credit: Dartmouth.edu
Related: Smoking out photo hoaxes with software -
This digital composite of Sen. John Kerry and Jane Fonda sharing a stage at an antiwar rally emerged during the 2004 presidential primaries while Kerry campaigned for the Democratic nomination.
The picture of Kerry was captured by photographer Ken Light as Kerry was preparing to give a speech at the Register for Peace Rally held in Mineola, N.Y., in June 1971. The picture of Jane Fonda was captured by Owen Franken as Fonda spoke at a political rally in Miami Beach, Fla., in August 1972.
Credit: Dartmouth.edu
Related: Smoking out photo hoaxes with software -
This March 2004 political ad for George W. Bush, prepared during his run for president, shows a sea of soldiers as a backdrop to a child holding a flag. This image was digitally doctored by copying and pasting, from the original photograph, several soldiers in order to digitally remove Bush from a podium. After acknowledging that the photo had been doctored, the Bush campaign said that the ad would be re-edited and reshipped to TV stations.
Credit: Dartmouth.edu
Related: Smoking out photo hoaxes with software -
This July 1992 cover of TexasMonthly shows Gov. Ann Richards astride a Harley-Davidson Motorcycle. This picture was created by splicing the head of Richards onto the body of a model. The editors explained that their credit page disclosed this fact by noting in the credits page "Cover Photograph by Jim Myers ... Stock photograph (head shot) By Kevin Vandivier/Texastock." After the motorcycle cover appeared, Richards said that since the model had such a nice body, she could hardly complain.
Credit: Dartmouth.edu
Related: Smoking out photo hoaxes with software -
The cover of TV Guide in August 1989 displayed this picture of daytime talk-show host Oprah Winfrey. This picture was created by splicing the head of Winfrey onto the body of actress Ann-Margret, taken from a 1979 publicity shot. The composite was created without permission of Winfrey or Ann-Margret, and was detected by Ann-Margret's fashion designer, who recognised the dress.
Credit: Dartmouth.edu
Related: Smoking out photo hoaxes with software -
This digitally altered photograph of Kenny and Bobbi McCaughey appeared in December 1997 on the cover of Newsweek magazine shortly after Bobbi gave birth to septuplets. This photograph was manipulated from the original, which also appeared, unaltered, on the cover of Time magazine. Newsweek manipulated the photograph to make Bobbi's teeth straighter, and was accused of trying to make her "more attractive."
Credit: Dartmouth.edu
Related: Smoking out photo hoaxes with software -
This digitally altered photograph of O.J. Simpson appeared on the June 1994 cover of Time magazine shortly after Simpson's arrest on murder charges. This photograph was manipulated from the original mug shot. A copy of the mug shot also appeared, unaltered, on the cover of Newsweek. Time magazine was subsequently accused of manipulating the photograph to make Simpson appear "darker" and "menacing."
Credit: Dartmouth.edu
Related: Smoking out photo hoaxes with software
Add Your Comment