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‘Disgraceful propaganda’: Fox News under fire for misleading images from Seattle protest zone

16 Jun

A screenshot of an altered photo shared by Fox News, which has since been removed from its website.

Fox News is taking heat after publishing a digitally altered image and a misleading photograph last week in its reporting on Seattle’s Black Lives Matter protests in Seattle, Washington.

Last Friday, Huffington Post reporter Michael Hobbes shared a set of pictures that shows Fox News clearly composited an image of a person carrying a rifle over two photographs of Seattle’s Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ). While the editing job is far from subtle if you look closely – note the lighting discrepancies between the backgrounds and the gun-wielding subject, as well as the extra area of red between his torso and left elbow – the fact the same individual was used in two separate images makes it clear this was a post-production job.

lmao Fox News is photoshopping an armed guard into pictures about the Capital Hill Autonomous Zone to make it look more dangerous than it is
(h/t @sumromanus!) pic.twitter.com/WtxE8k18KB

— Michael Hobbes (@RottenInDenmark) June 12, 2020

A Fox News spokesperson provided the following comment to Seattle Times:

‘We have replaced our photo illustration with the clearly delineated images of a gunman and a shattered storefront, both of which were taken this week in Seattle’s autonomous zone’

It appears that there are weapons in the autonomous zone, but as The Seattle Times notes, even Fox News’ follow-up statement is misleading, since the photo of the armed man was taken on June 10th in the Capitol Hill neighborhood while the wrecked storefront image was captured in downtown Seattle, back on May 30th, according to metadata provided by Getty Images.

Photojournalism ethics expert Kenny Irby told Seattle Times in response to the posting of the altered images, ‘I think it’s disgraceful propaganda and terribly misrepresentative of documentary journalism in times like this, when truth-telling and accountability is so important […] There is no attribution. There is no acknowledgment of the montage, and it’s terribly misleading.’ National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) executive director Akili-Casundria Ramsess also told The Seattle Times it was ‘completely egregious to manipulate this the way they have done.’

They also used a fiery photo from Minnesota as the centerpiece on a package of stories about Seattle. https://t.co/RBF0ttg2ku pic.twitter.com/bElH94RgYW

— Gina Cole (@Gina_Cole_) June 12, 2020

In a reply to Hobbe’s post on Twitter, Seattle Times Editor Gina Cole responded with a screenshot showing Fox News also shared an article under the headline ‘Seattle helpless as armed guards patrol anarchists’ ‘autonomous zone,’ shake down businesses: cops’ with a photo of an individual running through the streets with a burning car in the foreground and a burning storefront in the background.

However, the image Fox News featured with the article was taken not in Seattle this past week, but two weeks ago, 1,650 miles away in Minneapolis. It was taken by AP photographer John Minchillo, during the Black Lives Matter protests in Minnesota’s capital, as noted by Suki Dardarian, Senior Managing Editor & VP of Minnesota’s Star Tribune. Meanwhile, Seattle’s protests remains largely peaceful, and SPD has apologized for repeating the groundless claim that local businesses had been ‘shaken down’.

Note the creation date on AP Image’s website: May 30, 2020 05:13:07 PM

In response to the criticism, Fox News took down the images and shared the following statement on Saturday in the form of an Editor’s Note at the end of the article:

‘A FoxNews.com home page photo collage which originally accompanied this story included multiple scenes from Seattle’s ‘Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone’ and of wreckage following recent riots,” the note read. “The collage did not clearly delineate between these images, and has since been replaced. In addition, a recent slideshow depicting scenes from Seattle mistakenly included a picture from St. Paul. Fox News regrets these errors.’

This isn’t the first time Fox News has been caught altering images or sharing misleading images under unrelated headlines. But it’s not the only offender. CBS was caught this past April using video footage of an Italian hospital while reporting on the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City. CBS apologized at the time for what it called an ‘editing mistake’.

Editor’s note (June 15, 2020): A previous version of this article incorrectly stated it was CNN that was caught using incorrect video footage in April — it was in fact CBS. The article has been updated accordingly.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Officials say Apple’s claim of ‘studio quality’ portraits on iPhone X, Xs isn’t misleading

05 Dec

Two challenges to Apple’s claim that its iPhone X can shoot studio quality portraits have been turned down by the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). The complainants took issue with Apple’s advertising line that the phone could deliver ‘Studio-quality portraits […] Without the studio’ and believed consumers would misled, but after an investigation the ASA found that the statement was fair.

The basis of the findings is that there isn’t clear definition of what ‘studio quality’ means, and that there is a wide variety of talent in the studio photography industry that meant that the term didn’t necessarily indicate that a ‘studio quality’ portrait was a good one. Rather, the ASA agreed with Apple that the Portrait Lighting effects, the depth-of-field mimicking software and the inclusion of a standard, instead of a wide, focal length meant that the characteristics of a ‘studio’ portrait could be achieved. The investigation also found that the effects shown in the Apple adverts could indeed be produced with the phone at the time of shooting or post capture.

The ruling might seem a smack in the face to the portrait business and to undermine respect for the profession, but photographers are perhaps becoming victims of our own well-worn stock phrases such as ‘the best camera is the one you have with you’. While there is no clear measure of what ‘studio quality’ means, skill and vison are required to create a good portrait and as we all know ‘it’s the archer not the arrow’ – though Apple forgot to mention that bit.

The fact is that smart phones are genuinely becoming better and better at taking pictures, and their developers are devising features and functions well ahead of those traditional camera makers offer. These features often exist to compensate for the physical limitations of the tiny camera units, but they also put incredible flexibility into the hands of the user. At every turn in history the advances of smaller formats have been opposed by ‘proper’ photographers, but that has done nothing to prevent the inevitable progress of the convenience and popularisation of photography. You would be mad to buy an iPhone X to start your portrait business however, as a decent interchangeable lens camera can be had for less than the same price – with change to use a pay phone.

For more information on the complaint, the investigation and the ruling see the Advertising Standards Authority website.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Amsterdam Airbnb in a Metro Station Mocks Misleading & Harmful Hotels

25 May

[ By SA Rogers in Boutique & Art Hotels & Travel. ]

Anyplace can be an Airbnb – including vans, sheds, housing that should rightfully be for rent to the city’s residents, and cozy rooms ‘by the metro’ that turn out to actually be in the metro station. In fact, the latter example is on display in the metro station Wibautstraat in Amsterdam’s city center right now, walled off with glass to put guests on full display of commuters in a commentary on how misleading and harmful listings on the travel accommodations website can be.

Created by Dutch artist Boudewijn Rückert, the installation could be read in a variety of ways without context. If you didn’t know the artist’s intentions, you might think this was an advertisement, or an unconventional room made available by Airbnb as a promotional stunt. But lean in and take a close look at the placard accompanying the exhibition.

The text reads, “This unique location is an ideal base for your Amsterdam exploring. Spacious room with artificial lighting. It is really cosy and comfortable. Very close to the city center, ideal for conference goers. Very safe environment. Open and big windows. Public transport is very nearby.”

@AmsterdamNL #airbnb in metrostation Wibautstraat pic.twitter.com/GbjbUKNugi

— Boudewijn Rückert (@Boudo1963) May 1, 2017

As Rücker notes on his website, roughly 15,000 homes are currently offered “as a permanent holiday” in the city, excluding them from housing and contributing to gentrification. Plus, the way these accommodations are typically styled makes them exceedingly generic in the sterile Silicon Valley aesthetic increasingly referred to as ‘Airspace.’

Nu ook airbnb in metrostation wibautstraat pic.twitter.com/uMuloidhWM

— Boudewijn Rückert (@Boudo1963) April 30, 2017

The artist outfitted the room in furniture and decor you could find in any city around the world thanks to Ikea, along with “a butt-ugly vase with plastic flowers,” with nothing but a photo of an Amsterdam ferry on the wall to hint at the room’s geographic location.

While he’s aware that the installation is bound to press the buttons of Airbnb fans and perhaps the company itself, he hopes it will stimulate conversation around how renting out all these rooms is affecting the lives of people who live in the host cities – a controversy that’s definitely not limited to the city of Amsterdam.