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More doctored photos from Hajj/Reuters?
Jawa Report ^ | 8/6/2006

Posted on 08/06/2006 6:31:08 AM PDT by Uncledave

August 06, 2006

Reuters Doctoring Beirut Photos (Updated)

Scroll down for updates.

The photo below is attributed to Adnan Hajj, of the Reuters news agency. The photo alleges to show smoke covering the Beirut sky. The problem with the photo is that it is that it has been doctored to make it appear that an Israeli missile strike did much more damage than it actually did.

Adnan Hajj also took the photos of dead children at Qana. Allegations have arisen that the Qana photos were part of a staged event put on by Hezbollah operatives.

There is no doubt that the photo below is doctored. And not very well. It uses a common Photoshop technique called cloning, where one part of a picture is copied and replicated onto another part of the photo. The billowing smoke and several buildings in the photo are clones of other parts of the photo.

20060805BeirutPhotoshop03.gif

Charles Johnson of Little Green Footballs has an animated version of the photo which points out more clearly that the photo was doctored. With his permission, I have posted one of them above. Go to LGF for more detailed photo analysis.

Left & Right has another animated version of the photo which is also convincing.

And reader efussekay points out the smoke cloning.

But this may not be the first time Reuters has distributed doctored photos by Adnan Hajj. Below is another example of Hajj's work. It was allegedly taken on July 13th and supposedly shows damage done to Beirut's civilian airport by an Israeli missile attack.

However, the photo appears to actually be a composite of two different scenes. One is of the airport which seems to be cut and pasted on to the Beirut skyline.

Here is a small version of the photo, as it appears at Yahoo News.

Now, here is a larger version of the same image with the cut and paste line pointed out. Click for larger view.

Reuters_doctored_photo_Beirut_airport_adnan_Hajj2_tmb.jpg

Perhaps someone with better skills can do a better job with the photo? I hope that puts to rest any notion that Hajj was motivated by not getting any good shots, as Allah suggest. It seems as if Michelle has found another candidate here.

So, who is this Adnan Hajj and does Reuters know that he is doctoring photos? I doubt that any one at Reuters was involved, as Lawhawk seems to think is plausible. It seems the more likely story is that since the people at Reuters want to believe the Hezbollah propaganda version of events, they are less likely to question the validity of photos that simply reaffirm what they already know.

Perhaps he was hired for his access to Hizbollah?

Ace chimes in:

Seems to me someone was just writing a lot about the MSM setting itself for a major scandal by credulously taking every report or picture submitted by a foreign stringer with likely poltiical biases, unknown loyalties, and dubious ethics, and splashing them on the front pages as if they'd all been carefully scrutinized and vetted.
Indeed. And Allah, as always, is all over this.

Update: Here's Hajj speaking to the students at the Lebanese American University. I'm guessing he's the guy in the middle because of the way the caption read at the LAU website.

hajj_at_LAU.jpg

Perhaps the poor photoshopping skills can be attributed to his age? Photoshopping skills belong to the young. But the fact that he was asked to speak to students seems to suggest that he has the appearance of being a legitimate journalist.

UPDATE: And plagiarism, too? (scroll to the end update) I guess that's the academic terminology. Lawyers call it copyright infringement, I think.

UPDATE II: Er, what the??? Another Hajj "photo" from July 24th with the caption "Smoke rises from a Hizbollah stronghold in southern Beirut after being hit by Israeli warplanes." Call me crazy, but what the hell is a straight line doing in the middle of the Beirut skyline? Update within an update: And by "straight line" I mean the stark contrast between the upper 90% of the photo, and the lower 10%. It's very odd to have such stark lines in nature. A reader suggests that it is the airport, but if you check out the other two photos which are in the series, that doesn't appear to be the case. The other two photos by Hajj (here and here), taken the same day and of the same scene, show a similar sky, but none of the houses in Beirut have turned on their lights yet. It's almost as if.......

UPDATE III: And another one. I wish I had the original, larger photo. But this one is suspicious. Look closely. --Update within an update: Look at the explosion in the background. Seems a bit out of proportion. I could be wrong.

UPDATE IV: So, you're telling me that this neutral media observer just happens to be pointing his camera in the right direction as the missile is being fired by Hezbollah to take out the single Israeli ship damaged in the war? If he wasn't tipped off by Hezbollah, then I'm going to give him a ring and ask him for this week's lottery numbers!

On second thought, how do we know Hajj didn't see a flare, snap a photo, and then wire it in with the amazing news that he just happened to see Hezbollah fire at the Israeli ship? Update within an update: Reader tells me it's no flare. Since my experience with flares is limited to debunking the Phoenix "UFO" sightings, I'll take his word for it. Now about those lotto tickets Mr. Hajj........

UPDATE V: The plot thickens. A man with a very similar name to Adnan Hajj particpated in other anti-Israel media ops. Update within an update: Adnan Hajj = Adnan Hajj Ali. Think Israel has this long expose of Pallywood manipulation of the media by use of Arab stringers.

It appears that pictures taken by Hajj and other Arab stringers of a child surrounded by bodies in a morgue after the IDF destroyedsome homes in a raid in Rafah were used by the Palestinians to accuse Israel of "genocide".

Why does this sound so familiar?

While perusing the online photo archives of Reuters, I couldn't help but notice that the same corpse of a child was repeatedly photographed with different people carrying it. Was it staged or candid? I really don't know, but deliberate or not, it does give the illusion of additional casualties. Suspicions are raised even further now that IMRA disclosed that two Palestinian children who died in the Rafah procession incident were murdered by Palestinian gunmen and that the IDF photographed the shooting. If you doubt the authenticity of this report, please note that it was first reported in Haaretz by Amir Oren on May 21st.

Meanwhile in the oft photographed morgue, a lone child is repeatedly photographed in different locations of the room as he sits over assorted groupings of bodies. A spontaneous photographic opportunity or was it posed for propaganda purposes? ....

These are the names of the photographers and photojournalists from AP, Reuters and AFP who covered the action for the Palestinian side of the street in Gaza these past two weeks....Adnan Hajj Ali

Boy, it's almost like we have another Bilal Hussein. Do you think Adnan will win the puliltzer like our buddy Bilal?

UPDATE VI: I'm going to bed. Since I'm on West Coast time, I won't be able to keep up with this in the morning. If you have a good observation or more info regarding this, please leave it in the comments.

Also, for other Jawa authors, consider this an open invitation to add your own two cents to this post.

More commentary: Say Anything, Flopping Aces, Jeff Harrell explains it well



TOPICS: Israel; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: adnanhajj; alreuters; enemypropaganda; fabrication; fakebutaccurate; fakephotos; fauxtography; hezbollah; lebanon; medialies; photoshop; propaganda; reutergate; reuterrorism; reuters
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Experts here care to follow up on these good leads?...
1 posted on 08/06/2006 6:31:10 AM PDT by Uncledave
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To: Uncledave

So much photo Trickery at Reuters, my head is spinning.


2 posted on 08/06/2006 6:35:19 AM PDT by AmericanMade1776
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To: Uncledave

Would it be fair to say, that Reuter is using "smoking mirrors"


3 posted on 08/06/2006 6:35:55 AM PDT by AmericanMade1776
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To: Uncledave

Way to go, guys!!! Expose these liars.


4 posted on 08/06/2006 6:37:57 AM PDT by Suzy Quzy ("When Cabals Go Kaboom"....upcoming book on Mary McCarthy's Coup-Plotters.)
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To: AmericanMade1776

I LOVE the blogs. They are on the Front Line in this war. We are so blessed to have them in these dark days. It makes me proud to be an American that these very feisty, brilliant blog-warriors are working day and night.


5 posted on 08/06/2006 6:38:22 AM PDT by bboop (Stealth Tutor)
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To: Uncledave
al Reuters....is anyone surprised?
6 posted on 08/06/2006 6:38:28 AM PDT by SHOOT THE MOON bat ("I ain't got a dime but what i got is mine. I ain't rich but Lord I'm free." George Strait)
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To: AmericanMade1776
This one seems like a decent candidate for proving false for the reasons Jawa decribed comparing shots in the series


7 posted on 08/06/2006 6:40:28 AM PDT by Uncledave
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To: AmericanMade1776
SMOKING MIRRORS

The term " smoke and mirrors" was popularzied by newspaper columnits Jimmy Breslin c.1975, has been said to derive from carnie slang for magic acts and 'freak show' displays that depnd on 'trompe l'oeil' effects

8 posted on 08/06/2006 6:41:19 AM PDT by AmericanMade1776
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To: Uncledave

ping


9 posted on 08/06/2006 6:41:59 AM PDT by GeorgiaDawg32 (I'm a Patriot Guard Rider..www.patriotguard.org for info)
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To: bboop
bboop wrote: I LOVE the blogs. They are on the Front Line in this war. We are so blessed to have them in these dark days. It makes me proud to be an American that these very feisty, brilliant blog-warriors are working day and night.

While we sleep the Front line Bloggers are protecting Truth, Justice and the American Way ;-)

10 posted on 08/06/2006 6:42:33 AM PDT by AmericanMade1776
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To: Uncledave

It used to be said that a picture is worth a thousand words. That is still true.

A doctored photo is worth a thousand words of condemnation for those who doctored it. photo shop may be fun for a joke or to clean up some zits on the face of the one pictured, but when photo-shopped pictures are accepted and used by a major news source its proof of a bias in that source and means that source is not credible and should be ignored, if not destroyed.


11 posted on 08/06/2006 6:42:58 AM PDT by sgtbono2002 (The fourth estate is a fifth column.)
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To: bboop
I LOVE the blogs.

Yeah, these people must be in shock right about now. They always think they're the smartest ones in the room.

12 posted on 08/06/2006 6:43:29 AM PDT by THX 1138
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To: THX 1138
Hats off for

Can not even get the site to load this morning, it must be swamped.

13 posted on 08/06/2006 6:48:08 AM PDT by AmericanMade1776
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To: Uncledave

bump


14 posted on 08/06/2006 6:48:27 AM PDT by VOA
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To: Uncledave
From Michael Malkin
15 posted on 08/06/2006 6:49:02 AM PDT by Boazo (From the mind of BOAZO)
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To: THX 1138

I wonder when the NY Slimes will run a job opportunity for a professional photoshop cropper capable of turning innocent photos into glaring examples of Israeli aggression. Resumes to be submitted to al-Reuters of course.


16 posted on 08/06/2006 6:49:31 AM PDT by GeorgiaDawg32 (I'm a Patriot Guard Rider..www.patriotguard.org for info)
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To: Uncledave

What do the photoshop experts here think of this?

17 posted on 08/06/2006 6:50:55 AM PDT by Uncledave
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To: THX 1138

Reuters admits altering Beirut photo



Reuters withdraws photograph of Beirut after Air Force attack after US blogs, photographers point out 'blatant evidence of manipulation.' Reuters' head of PR says in response, 'Reuters has suspended photographer until investigations are completed into changes made to photograph'
Yaakov Lappin



A Reuters photograph of smoke rising from buildings in Beirut has been withdrawn after coming under attack by American web logs. The blogs accused Reuters of distorting the photograph to include more smoke and damage.




The photograph showed two very heavy plumes of black smoke billowing from buildings in Beirut after an Air Force attack on the Lebanese capital. Reuters has since withdrawn the photograph from its website, along a message admitting that the image was distorted, and an apology to editors.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3286966,00.html


18 posted on 08/06/2006 6:52:43 AM PDT by tessalu
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To: Uncledave

Want to go nuts? Try to determine who actually owns Reuters. Traded in Europe stock exchanges under the symbol RTG, it is also traded in the USA as RTRSY. Nonetheless, in providing info for the US market it does not list its major owners, institutional or otherwise. Its founder Paul Julius Reuters, a Jew, must be flipping in his grave as Reuters today offers some of the most anti-Semitic fare published in Europe, and subsidiarily in the USA.


19 posted on 08/06/2006 6:54:12 AM PDT by gaspar
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To: VOA

As Bob Seger would say.

Shakedown, breakdown, takedown
Everybody wants into the crowded light
Breakdown, takedown, Your Busted


20 posted on 08/06/2006 6:54:53 AM PDT by BlueSky194
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