Another application of Reuters fauxtography

Reuters is notorious for its fauxtography scandals, where photos published by the agency have been doctored in an effort to conceal or distort the facts associated with the incident portrayed (see our right side panel).

Less well-recognized is that Reuters editors frequently select photos for publication that only tell one side of a story.  Even more egregious, are those times when editors select photos which are entirely unrelated to the associated story.

Consider this story by Reuters historical fabricators Nidal al-Mughrabi and Allyn Fisher-Ilan about the latest round of (92) (180) (200) Palestinian rockets and mortars launched at civilian communities in Israel and the targeted killing of Palestinian terrorists by the Israeli military.

Reuters runs two photo slides with the story; one, of a woman in distress being supported by a man with the caption:

A Palestinian woman reacts at a hospital after an Israeli targeted attack on a car in Gaza City March 9, 2012.

The second photo is captioned:

Palestinian demonstrators run away from tear gas fired by Israeli security officers during clashes at a weekly protest against a nearby Jewish settlement, in the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh, near Ramallah, March 9, 2012.

A glaring illustration of a non sequitur in the context of a story about the exchange of aerial missiles between Israeli forces and Palestinian terror groups in Gaza. 

No photos are provided depicting the psychological effects, property damage, or injuries sustained by  Israeli civilians as a result of the Palestinian attacks.

Reuters the recidivists.

UPDATE MARCH 11, 2012:

Reuters runs another unrelated photo in this update.

Moreover, note how al-Mughrabi (please tell us why this pathological liar is still employed at the agency) obfuscates on the number of Palestinian combatants killed versus civilians:

Israeli aircraft have continued to fly attacks over the Gaza strip, killing at least 16 people, including militants, since Friday.

Depending upon source, between 94 percent and 100 percent of Palestinians killed in this exchange of fire were combatants.

By comparison, the United Nations estimates that the average ratio of civilian to combatant deaths in similar conflicts worldwide is 3:1 -- three civilians for every combatant killed.

Pure Reuters; pure propaganda

Reuters is infamous for its fauxtography (fabricated, doctored, or staged photos) intended for propaganda purposes.

Yesterday, the Israeli air force killed a Hamas operative and a member of Palestinian President Abbas' al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades.  Here are the pertinent details from a Reuters story:

(Reuters) - An Israeli air strike killed two Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip Thursday and Palestinians in the territory fired rockets deep into southern Israel in the latest round of cross-border violence.In Tel Aviv, an Israeli military spokeswoman confirmed an air strike had been carried out. She said the two men killed in the incident had been planning an attack on Israeli civilians and soldiers along Israel's border with Egypt's Sinai peninsula.  [...]
"(They) were affiliated with a terrorist squad that intended to attack Israeli civilians and soldiers via the western border," an army statement said.
Hamas, an Islamist group sworn to Israel's destruction, has ruled the blockaded Gaza Strip since 2007, while President Mahmoud Abbas's Western-backed Palestinian Authority remains dominant in the occupied West Bank.
The army statement said that Essam had been involved in planning a suicide bombing in the southern Israeli resort of Eilat in 2007 in which three Israeli civilians were killed, and a number of other attacks, some of which had been stopped.
Essam was a member of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, an offshoot of Abbas's Fatah movement, group officials said. The Hamas said Sobhi was affiliated with its own armed wing.

Reuters runs a photograph with the story.  Does the news agency show us the wrecked car from the scene?  A file picture of the two Palestinian terrorists?  A photo of damage caused by several of the hundreds of Palestinian rockets fired into Israel this year?  No.  Reuters employs the appeal to pity propaganda technique to suck its audience into sympathy with a mass murderer.

Check it out.

Photojournalism in the Middle East

Deputy Managing Editor of The Jerusalem Post, Caroline Glick, posts a video produced by a young Italian photographer which demonstrates the very active role taken by photojournalists in the Middle East conflict:



This reminded us of the story of the Reuters cameraman who was remanded in 2006, for encouraging and directing Palestinians to throw rocks at Israeli vehicles.  It appears little has changed over the last five years.

hat tip: EoZ

Stuporous slander

Like an alcoholic who catches a whiff of scotch and cannot resist diving in, when a Reuters correspondent indulges himself, pen in hand, with a story on the Middle East, the temptation to slander Israel is simply overwhelming.

So it is with Reuters "special correspondent" and hard-core propagandist Alistair Lyon.  In a 1,504 word op-ed (misleadingly characterized as "Analysis") about current unrest in the Arab world and its potential to transform the political landscape, Lyon can barely get past his lede before gratuitously and maliciously dumping on Israel:

Israel's American-backed attempts to bomb Hezbollah and south Lebanon into submission in 2006 did not change the region, as Condoleezza Rice predicted it would.

Lyon is suggesting here that the US used or encouraged Israel to attack Hezbollah and Lebanon in an effort to alter Middle East politics but of course, Secretary of State Rice never suggested anything remotely along the lines that "bombing Hezbollah and southern Lebanon into submission" would change the region, nor was that Israel's objective in a war initiated by Hezbollah.  (Given Israel's air defense capabilities, we dare say that if Israel's goal were to bomb Lebanon and its illegal terrorist militias "into submission", we might have seen destruction in Beirut on a scale depicted in Reuters notorious doctored photographs).

Lyon glibly misrepresents Condoleezza Rice and libels Israel but fails to recount the events which led Israel to enter the war against Hezbollah in 2006 so here is a reminder: 

The fighting on the Lebanese border erupted around 9 a.m., when Hezbollah attacked several Israeli towns with rocket fire, wounding several civilians, the Israeli military said. Israeli civilians rushed into their bomb shelters and many remained there through the day.
But that attack was a diversion for the main operation, several miles to the east, where Hezbollah militants fired antitank missiles at two armored Humvees patrolling the Israeli side of the border fence, the military said. Of the seven soldiers in the two jeeps, three were killed, two were wounded and two were abducted, the military said.

Hezbollah ultimately fired some 4,000 rockets into Israeli cities, damaging hundreds of homes and forcing millions of Israelis into bomb shelters for weeks.

Thus, the war was foist upon Israel which fought back with both air power and ground troops in an effort to recover the abducted soldiers, protect its citizens, and deter further Hezbollah aggression.

Reuters Middle East correspondents readily succumb to the temptation to slander Israel; it requires a good deal more sobriety to report the truth.  Perhaps they can be persuaded to enter a twelve-step program.

Reuters reports on UN finding regarding border clash; expediently switches photos

In what must be quite distressing for the agency, Reuters has had to acknowledge that, per the UN, Israel was within its own borders when the Lebanese army opened fire killing an Israeli Lieutenant Colonel and critically wounding another officer.  After reporting on this definitive finding however, Reuters returns to its usual "he said/she said" account of the incident with an amusing non sequitur from the Lebanese Information Minister:

Tareq Mitri said the area where Israel's activity took place was south of the Blue Line "but is Lebanese territory".

Makes perfect sense.

On the same URL where Reuters had published a picture of the Israeli army crane with a caption indicating the agency was in the process of "clarifying" the border location, Reuters has now removed the picture and replaced it with a photo of the crying daughter of a Lebanese soldier killed in the clash.  The not-so subliminal message: The Israelis were technically justified in defending against an unprovoked attack by the Lebanese army BUT... look at the pain and suffering they've caused.

Upstanding journalism.

UPDATE 11:20 AM: In an effort to rationalize the non sequitur above, Reuters edits the original story, adding:

Israel and Lebanon dispute parts of the Blue Line.

To be clear, there is no formal dispute with respect to the UN-drawn border at the point where the violence took place.

Fauxtography or... shucks, we forgot the caption

On its Axismundi Jerusalem site, Reuters runs an abridged version of a story published on its main site about the Armenian Quarter in Jerusalem.  Here's the photo appearing at the top of the former story:

Ah yes, it's an Armenian priest pleading with one of those brutish IDF soldiers who is obviously roughing him up.  It's not until the last line of the story (on the following page) that Reuters comes clean:

While the rich diversity of Christian worship in the city is a joy to many, scenes of armed Israeli police and troops having to pull rival priests, notably Greeks and Armenians, off each other within feet of Jesus’s tomb in recent times have done little to burnish the kind of ecumenism many church leaders preach.

By that time of course, most readers have either fallen asleep or logged off in disgust at the sight of those barbarous Israelis.

Two states for two people? Don't tell the Palestinian children

Reuters illustrates the logical fallacy/propaganda technique of appeal to pity by running a photo of Palestinian children in Gaza with the caption:

Palestinian children hold candles during a protest in Gaza City calling for an end to Israel's blockade on the Gaza Strip

A blockade of course, which has been all but lifted except for the import of weapons and war materiel.

Children holding candles is becoming a popular motif in Palestinian/media propaganda photo shoots.  On June 2nd, Palestinian children were similarly deployed in another protest following the Turkish flotilla boarding.  Here's a pic that appeared on the website Demotix:

And here's another Demotix photo of the same protest from earlier in the day:

Notice the image of "Palestine" painted on the cheek of the child on the left.

Reuters photographers apparently missed the greasepaint -- along with the larger message.

Reuters Jerusalem Bureau Chief to step down

Alastair Macdonald, whose work we have followed closely since our website commenced last August, is "ending his assignment" as Reuters Bureau Chief for Israel and the Palestinian territories.  Although we don't know the details behind Macdonald's exit nor do we know yet who will be replacing him, we will be frank and say that for any observer wishing for accurate and unbiased reporting of the Middle East conflict, Macdonald's departure will not be viewed with a great deal of sympathy.

In the ten months that we have been analyzing Reuters coverage of the conflict, Macdonald has demonstrated, 1) a refusal to take responsibility for factual errors, 2) a tendency to cherry-pick survey data to support his own political views, 3) repeated efforts to downplay and whitewash Palestinian violence, 4) systematic bias in favor of the Arabs, 5) reference to racist epithets to support his pro-Arab bias, 6) reliance on libelous information sources, 7) the use of spurious "man bites dog" stories in an effort to demonize Jews, 8) willful omission of highly newsworthy stories that undermine Palestinian image-making, 9) the parroting of Palestinian propaganda, 10) selective amnesia on the historical facts along with a host of false assertions, and 11) the scandalous publication on his watch, of doctored photos in violation of the Reuters Handbook and all standards of professional and ethical journalism.

Let's see; did we forget anything?

Reuters latest fauxtography scandal: an update

Following an avalanche of complaints, Reuters has been busy republishing the photos taken on board the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara with the originally excised content -- passenger knives, blood, additional Israeli wounded, etc. -- now appearing in the pictures.  Although this particular bout of "Cropitis" seems to have dissipated, Reuters is, as is its custom, correcting the transgression sans any apology or admission of wrongdoing, attributing the earlier adulterations to "normal editorial practice" (truer words were never spoken).

The episode has however, drawn a rebuke from the Israeli government in the form of a letter sent to Reuters Chief Executive Tom Glocer and copied to Jerusalem Bureau Chief Alastair Macdonald (with whom readers of this site will be intimately familiar).

The agency's impropriety in this instance has also reminded thousands of internet users of Reuters' sorry history publishing fraudulent photos, misleading captions, and heavily biased story content which, in the service of its single-minded Arab advocacy agenda, has done enormous damage to the reputations and lives of the people of Israel.

UPDATE JUNE 8, 2010: Fox News picked up the story.  Thousands of internet users witness to Reuters' shenanigans have now multiplied into millions of television viewers.  You're on camera, Reuters.  Smile.

Phew! What's that smell? It's another Reuters fauxtography scandal!

Charles Johnson at LGF has picked up the ball on the latest example of Reuters attempting to alter reality.  In another photo taken by the terror-linked IHH and originally published on its website, Reuters again crops out a knife held by one of the attackers as well as a pool of blood, and a second injured Israeli marine.  Here is Reuters version of the photo:

And here is the original from the IHH:

Johnson then increases the exposure slightly to better resolve the knife, blood, and second marine.

Paging Dean Wright; we think you have a problem.

More eviscerating editing

In a previous post, we noted Reuters slashing of over a minute of graphic video footage showing Israeli marines being brutally beaten and a commando being cast overboard the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara.

In its latest effort to downplay the violence perpetrated by Turkish members of the IHH, Reuters runs a photo of an injured Israeli marine surrounded by attackers with a knife cropped out of the scene.  Here's the original photo showing the knife:

And Reuters' version here.

Hat tip: Suzanne at Elder of Ziyon.

Photos Reuters will never show you

In previous posts, we have noted how Reuters cynically deploys photos which support the media company's Palestinian advocacy agenda; specifically, photos intended to elicit pity, photos which omit essential content or context, and photos that are incongruous with their capitions.

One of the recurring themes in Reuters reporting on the Middle East conflict is the hardship faced by Gazans purportedly due to the war with Israel in January and the ongoing embargo on certain products due to Israeli concerns that Palestinian terror groups will co-opt these for war materiel.  Readers are often treated to photos and stories of food shortages, closed businesses, and general deprivation.

Thanks to the Palestine Today website, we thought you might enjoy a few current scenes of "deprived" Gaza which Reuters (with their 100+ reporters and photographers in the area) have apparently missed .

In addition to the obvious abundance of food, clothes, and shoppers, note the use of items like digital scales, microwave ovens, and commercial refrigerators.

"Latest News Pictures"

Our lead above is how Reuters identifies current news photos on its website.  Reuters is well-known for employing photographs as a propaganda tool and captions which are incongruous with the accompanying photo.  Here, Reuters features a photograph of children playing in Gaza with the caption:

Palestinian children play in front of houses, destroyed during the three-week offensive Israel launched last December, on the first day of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha in the northern Gaza Strip November 27, 2009. Muslims around the world celebrate Eid al-Adha to mark the end of the haj by slaughtering sheep, goats, cows and camels to commemorate Prophet Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son Ismail on God's command.

Note the non sequitur in the first sentence and the incongruity between the photo and the newsworthy subject of the caption which is the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha.  The Gaza war took place nearly a year ago and is entirely unrelated to the topical portion of the caption.  Yet Reuters writers and editors deliberately conflate the two in an effort to sustain attention on the war and thus, advance their Palestinian advocacy agenda.

The media is the message

In our post Reuters needs a GPS, we highlighted Reuters fabrication of the fictitious city of "Arab East Jerusalem" for propaganda purposes. Reuters is also well-known for publishing photos that are doctored, staged, and dubiously void of content.

It is this last piece of journalistic malfeasance that is most often practiced by Reuters and egregious, i.e., employing photos that omit essential content, thereby advancing Reuters editors' own (biased) perspective while depriving its audience of the necessary information to draw considered conclusions on the conflict.

Note for example, how this series of photos appearing in a Reuters' story about recent violence perpetrated by Palestinians against Jewish worshippers in Jerusalem contains only images of, 1) an Israeli soldier firing tear gas, 2) an Israeli soldier aiming his rifle, 3) an Israeli soldier holding a Palestinian youngster in a headlock, and 4) Israeli police apparently whisking away a Palestinian described as being suspected of stabbing an Israeli soldier.

No photos of course, of Palestinians throwing rocks (or the wheelbarrow loaded with those rocks); no photos of Palestinian violence directed at Jewish worshippers on the Temple Mount; and no photos of the Israeli policeman stabbed in the neck by the Palestinian pictured.

Yet another illustration of the one-sided match always on the tube at the Reuters Middle East network.

What's missing from this list?

Food, cement, medicine, cattle, sheep, refrigerators. No sign of weapons smuggling, apparently. And this coming from a Reuters photojournalist who was close enough to snap the more attractive end of the cow.

(Where is the outrage from PETA?)

UPDATE: The Reuters stringer responsible for the pics and story linked above is none other than Suhaib Salem, arrested on suspicion of terrorism by Israel in 2002 (for having a hand grenade in his car) and brother to Salah Salem who was one of the men involved in the kidnapping and killing of Israeli soldier Cpl. Nachson Waxman in 1994. Tom Gross notes that Reuters' report on the matter failed to mention the hand grenade. Must have been an oversight.

Seven years on and it's still a beautiful friendship between Salem and Reuters.

UPDATE II: Here's a report from CAMERA in 2001 discussing a Salem photo and accompanying caption distributed by Reuters (scroll down to bottom). The photo depicts a Palestinian woman tossing bullet shell casings in the air; the Reuters caption dubiously refers to "empty Israeli bullet shells inside her house" followed by the incongruous, "five Palestinian families said this week that they are homeless after Israeli army forces demolished their houses in Rafah". CAMERA rightly questioned why Israeli troops would be firing from within a Palestinian house. Reuters refused to correct the error.

With Hamas boasting about replenishing their arsenal of rockets and other weapons following the war with Israel last January, is it credible that Salem would not have witnessed evidence of weapons smuggling during his time in the tunnels?