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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| News Agencies Stand by Lebanon Photos |
| 2006-08-02 |
| Maybe, maybe not. I'd sure like to know the truth, whatever that may be. Anybody know anything about this? If the photographers came from different time zones it might make sense. But even then, the hours should be different but not the minutes for the most part. By DAVID BAUDER Associated Press Writer NEW YORK Three news agencies on Tuesday rejected challenges to the veracity of photographs of bodies taken in the aftermath of an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon, strongly denying that the images were staged. "They were not staged. They were fabricated. Hmph." Photographers from The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France- Presse all covered rescue operations Sunday in Qana, where 56 Lebanese were killed. Many of their photos depicted rescue workers carrying dead children. A British Web site, the EU Referendum blog, built an argument that chicanery may have been involved by citing time stamps that went with captions of the photographs. For example, the Web site draws attention to a photo by AP's Lefteris Pitarakis time stamped 7:21 a.m., showing a dead girl in an ambulance. Another picture, stamped 10:25 a.m. and taken by AP's Mohammed Zaatari, shows the same girl being loaded onto the ambulance. In a third, by AP photographer Nasser Nasser and stamped 10:44 a.m., a rescue worker carries the girl with no ambulance nearby. The site suggests these events were staged for effect, a criticism echoed by talk show host Rush Limbaugh when he directed listeners to the blog on Monday. "These photographers are obviously willing to participate in propaganda," Limbaugh said. "They know exactly what's being done, all these photos, bringing the bodies out of the rubble, posing them for the cameras, it's all staged. Every bit of it is staged and the still photographers know it." The AP said information from its photo editors showed the events were not staged, and that the time stamps could be misleading for several reasons, including that web sites can use such stamps to show when pictures are posted, not taken. An AFP executive said he was stunned to be questioned about it. Reuters, in a statement, said it categorically rejects any such suggestion. Maybe, but you got some explaining to do. "It's hard to imagine how someone sitting in an air-conditioned office or broadcast studio many thousands of miles from the scene can decide what occurred on the ground with any degree of accuracy," said Kathleen Carroll, AP's senior vice president and executive editor. Not any harder than it is to imagine the press intentionally slanting the wording or evidence in a story to draw market segment. I see it all the time. Carroll said in addition to personally speaking with photo editors, "I also know from 30 years of experience in this business that you can't get competitive journalists to participate in the kind of (staging) experience that is being described." Perhaps other kinds of staging experiences, but not that kind of staging experience. I'll be she said that with a straight face, too! Photographers are experienced in recognizing when someone is trying to stage something for their benefit, she said. I'm sure they are. "Do you really think these people would risk their lives under Israeli shelling to set up a digging ceremony for dead Lebanese kids?" asked Patrick Baz, Mideast photo director for AFP. "I'm totally stunned by first the question, and I can't imagine that somebody would think something like that would have happened." Do you really want me to answer that? The AP had three different photographers there who weren't always aware of what the others were doing, and filed their images to editors separately, said Santiago Lyon, director of photography. Is it standard practice not to set the time on your cameras when you are taking pictures in a war zone that may be used as evidence? There are also several reasons not to draw conclusions from time stamps, Lyon said. Following a news event like this, the AP does not distribute pictures sequentially; photos are moved based on news value and how quickly they are available for an editor to transmit. The AP indicates to its members when they are sent on the wire, and member Web sites sometimes use a different time stamp to show when they are posted. Like who? Is EXIF info embedded in the photos stripped out? Then if the photographer filed several photos, they should all have exactly the same time stamp? |
| Posted by:gorb |
| #26 What else can we expect from the anti-semite, anti-US, anti-capitalist news agencies? Irony is, AP and company are pay per pixel. They run a subscription service, so good pictures are lucrative both to the cameraman and the agency. Pictures that can be splashed across the front pages of every Sunday paper in the world can inspire pure capitalist greed. The anti-semite and anti US bias just add to the incidental value in many parts of the globe. When tough questions are suddenly asked on Monday with respect to the credibility of the photography, a defense must be released or otherwise a few of those Sunday editors may just think twice before they spend their budget on potential bogus images next week. Dan Rather did us all a great public service. |
| Posted by: john 2006-08-02 19:56 |
| #25 What else can we expect from the anti-semite, anti-US, anti-capitalist news agencies? Ummm ... how about outright treason? This is essentially fifth They are going down, they are begining to realize it and good fucking riddance. Let's hope so, DV. As with the Internet's role in the Soviet Union's demise, so shall it be with biased media. Proliferation of the cell phone camera will go a long way towards unmasking fraudulent reporting. The Internet will also prove one of the most valuable tools in unseating terrorist domination of the Arab Muslim autocracies. Free exchange of information is one of the most prominent levers for globalization. Only such freedom of information will overcome the shadow of Islamist mind-control that is currently in vogue. At some point the entire Muslim Middle East will be dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century. Globalization and the Internet (plus a sh!tload of dead jihadists) will be the tools that do it. We need to continue a two-pronged program of decapping terrorist sponsors and leadership wherever it arises while importing connectivity everywhere possible. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2006-08-02 17:43 |
| #24 In the glorious tradition of Dan Rather! Well, to be fair, I think Dan just jumped the gun. These guys are seeming to be more and more complicit as time goes on. Huge opportunity here for Israel, huge risk of exposure here for the MSM. |
| Posted by: gorb 2006-08-02 17:34 |
| #23 In the glorious tradition of Dan Rather! |
| Posted by: gromgoru 2006-08-02 17:00 |
| #22 Then explain this video where you see them posing the body on a stretcher - around 1:29 into it |
| Posted by: Yosemite Sam 2006-08-02 15:25 |
| #21 Easy to check - the digital photos have time stamps right in them. Release the original images. |
| Posted by: mojo 2006-08-02 15:18 |
#20 Ho ho ho, looks like this story still has some legs, the Jerusalem Post reports that the IDF are looking into the allegations...
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| Posted by: Tony (UK) 2006-08-02 13:50 |
| #19 Tony, thanks, great little film. |
| Posted by: wxjames 2006-08-02 12:42 |
| #18 Carroll said in addition to personally speaking with photo editors, "I also know from 30 years of experience in this business that you can't get competitive journalists to participate in the kind of (staging) experience that is being described."
Of course not. So Jason Eason was lying through his teeth when he described CNN's news policy in Saddam's Iraq. I'm guessing every one of these photographers has a bodyguard supplied by....Hezbollah. And a guide, supplied by....Hezbollah. And got a taxi to Qana supplied by....Hezbollah. And all pictures and editorial content is monitored by ....Hezbollah. He's right. No participation. Ever. Must be referring to those other guys. |
| Posted by: john 2006-08-02 12:41 |
| #17 Where is Dan Rather when you need him? |
| Posted by: john 2006-08-02 12:26 |
| #16 I believe Ms. Michelle Malkin also pointed out evidence that the bodies themselves do not look JUST 3 hours old, freshly dead. |
| Posted by: Ptah 2006-08-02 12:08 |
| #15 And here's an example of us getting media through sites like YouTube. This is of a Hizbollocks terrorist using a house to fire missiles into Israel, what he doesn't realise is the IDF are watching... |
| Posted by: Tony (UK) 2006-08-02 12:01 |
| #14 There is a long history of battle photographers 'improving' their shots via staging. In the American Civil war a study of battle dead photos showed guns being placed onto corpses, and in one case a body being dragged 50 yards or so to a new position for visual effect. |
| Posted by: Oldcat 2006-08-02 11:40 |
| #13 Fake but accurate. |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge 2006-08-02 11:30 |
| #12 Thanks phil_b! - and I'll keep 'white-anting' for later... |
| Posted by: Tony (UK) 2006-08-02 11:10 |
| #11 And what photographer wouldn't set their camera clock to the local time? If I were running the photo-handling operaton for an international news agency, I'd require all photogs to set their digital cameras to GMT. And I'd put a visible timestamp (date, time in 24-hour format) on every pic I publish. But I like the idea of people being able to judge the evidence themselves. |
| Posted by: Rob Crawford 2006-08-02 09:56 |
| #10 What else can we expect from the anti-semite, anti-US, anti-capitalist news agencies? They are going down, they are begining to realize it and good fucking riddance. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2006-08-02 09:33 |
| #9 FAKE |
| Posted by: DMFD 2006-08-02 09:33 |
| #8 We have an expression in Australia - white-anting. It means to slowly nibble away at at some structure and eventually bring it crashing down. We are white-anting the MSM and will bring it down. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2006-08-02 09:17 |
| #7 and guess what, there's a hell of a lot more of us than there are of you, so one slip up - just one, and we're all over you like a rash. Yep, you're on a roll today, Tony. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2006-08-02 09:13 |
| #6 "It's hard to imagine how someone sitting in an air-conditioned office or broadcast studio many thousands of miles from the scene can decide what occurred on the ground with any degree of accuracy," said Kathleen Carroll, AP's senior vice president and executive editor. from her air-conditioned office and broadcast studio many thousands of miles away from the scene.... And what photographer wouldn't set their camera clock to the local time? And, no, I don't trust you - you traded in any trust we had long, long ago. You have lied before and you will likely lie again. You are a known liar. |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2006-08-02 09:01 |
| #5 Three news agencies THREE STOOGE AGENCIES??????? |
| Posted by: ARMYGUY 2006-08-02 08:53 |
| #4 "Do you really think these people would risk their lives under Israeli shelling to set up a digging ceremony for dead Lebanese kids?" asked Patrick Baz, Mideast photo director for AFP. "I'm totally stunned by first the question, and I can't imagine that somebody would think something like that would have happened." Mr Baz, Mr Baz, what did you expect? You've been drinking your own Kool Aid for too long now. You're starting to believe the propaganda yourself. More and more evidence is coming to light about press duplicity with terrorists and apologists for mass murder and you can't escape it, really you can't Mr Baz. You're not the only ones with connections to people's minds now Mr Baz - and guess what, there's a hell of a lot more of us than there are of you, so one slip up - just one, and we're all over you like a rash. Think on this a moment, a relatively unknown blog notices that there's something strange with the photos the AP has been pumping out (as well as 'Mr Green Helmet') and via linkups through other blogs like our own dear RB and with the help of the Pajamaheddin, Rush Limbaugh gets to hear about it and summons his army of the night (diabolical laugh here) to do his bidding ;) Then the AP has to issue a rebuttal to say that of course the photos are what they purport to be. Maybe they are, maybe they aren't, but just giving us the tired old line of 'trust us' is a bit weak. If this doesn't tell the MSM that they have a major problem on their hands, then I wonder what will. Big high-five to EU Referendum, Rush, the Pajamaheddin and all seekers of truth! |
| Posted by: Tony (UK) 2006-08-02 08:49 |
| #3 The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France- Presse Usual MSM suspects. Good reasons to question the veracity of the photographs. Saw Lou Dobbs, very briefly the other day--say I had a weak moment or wanted to know what the enemy was saying. What came across was BLAME Israel for everything. It is there responsibility to do something, etc, ya da ya da ya da, ad nauseum. I had to turn the channel. He is the most sniveling, islamofasicst apologist. He is awful at the reporting (?) game. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2006-08-02 08:32 |
| #2 Lying bastards. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2006-08-02 08:10 |
| #1 Dead Americans: Cover it up, to keep the people from getting enraged against terrorists. Dead Muslims: Splash it everywhere; cooperate with staged press events; don't explain why a single guy has been running these photo-ops for a decade -- gotta keep people mad at the Americans and Jews. |
| Posted by: Rob Crawford 2006-08-02 07:43 |