Posted on 08/16/2006 8:17:46 AM PDT by Kryptonite
He initiated uproar that exposed ethics breach
The furor over a photograph began in such a quiet, ordinary way.
Mike Thorson, a Janesville artist and part owner of a tool distribution company, was sitting at his computer on a Saturday, checking a few news sites after looking at his e-mail. On Yahoo, he came across a Reuters photograph purporting to show the smoky aftermath of an Israeli air raid on the Beirut suburbs.
"As soon as I saw it something looked very strange," said Thorson, 39.
What he found led to a story that raced around the globe and resulted in Reuters' severing its ties with photographer Adnan Hajj.
Looking closely at the photography, he saw an odd pattern in the thick, black clouds of smoke rising from the bombed area. He recognized the effect, a bit of Adobe Photoshop magic called cloning.
To clone, you simply click on part of a picture, then paste an exact copy of that part somewhere else on the photo. Thorson recognized the effect because he'd used it. Sometimes he'd worked on catalog photographs of the tools his company distributes. Sometimes, on close inspection, he would find on the photograph a speck of dust, a piece of dirt, a hair or some other imperfection. By cloning, he could replace the imperfection with a clean image.
The photo on the Yahoo site was different, though. It was supposed to be journalism.
"I was shocked," Thorson said later. "This is supposed to be serious. Reuters is a very well-known and respected wire service."
Within minutes Thorson went to the political blog Little Green Footballs and sent a comment about his suspicions that the photo had been doctored. He thought of the blog because it had been among those questioning the authenticity of the documents "60 Minutes II" used in a report on President George W. Bush's record in the Texas Air National Guard.
The very next morning, Aug. 6, Thorson saw his suspicions posted on Little Green Footballs, and the story soon caught fire.
"I was really surprised that the story got to be as big as it did," Thorson said. "I certainly didn't mean for anybody to lose their job or anything like that. I am glad that it was exposed.
"I think people do need to have some sort of skepticism about the news: What's being presented? Who's presenting it? Do they have an agenda? What's being left out?"
Not anymore...
"I was shocked," Thorson said later. "This is supposed to be serious. Reuters is a very well-known and respected wire service."
{snicker}
Can't agree with you, Mike...I WANT these FRAUDS to LOSE their JOBS!!
Ha!
I'm listening to Fox News interview one of the passengers on that London-DC flight which landed in Boston because of suspect materials, and the passenger said all the airline passengers have been self-deputized and are alert to their fellow passengers. The same thing is happening to the "news": the consumers of the "news" are now investigating the veracity of that "news." And it's a good thing, too.
What's his FReeper ID? People that smart must be FReepers!
Good analogy - absolutely correct. I remember our first couple of flights after 9/11 - everybody was pretty vigilant about who was on those planes. Seems to be coming back strong again after the London plot was foiled last week.
Dan Rather then tries to pass off a fake story and now people question the "news". This guy remembered the whole Blather TANG fraud and the Little Green Footballs involvement, so he went there to post his suspicions. It's a damn good thing he did.
this is what happens when liberty is allowed to flourish. This is what the founders had in mind.
Mike Thorson bump!
If this is the guy that alerted little green footballs I can't help but think that statement about Reuters is laced with sarcasm. I'm sure he is laughing with his friends that the sarcasm was not picked up in the story.
"Reuters is a very well-known and respected wire service."
Well-known maybe. Respected, NO.
What a story! Little Green Footballs always acknowledged a tip from a reader lead to their Reuters investigation and smack down
ROTFL...There were an awful lot of people not shocked at all.
Weird headline--thought they caught the Janesville man in the middle of doctoring the photo. Someone really needs to work on the headline writing.
The power of the individual and access to a MAC. :^)
If this is the guy that alerted little green footballs .....
He sure seems to be! He's just a regular old American just like you and me. Except that he's an artist well acquainted with PhotoShop
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