Then came reproduction of those images in print which meant adjust contrast for visibility in a newspaper.
The Communists would regularly add or remove figures depending on their standing with the Party.
Intent has been altered before. I offered up 2 books with many examples.
With digital photography, this sort of thing happens more frequently in Western press than it used to happen with images from film.
And it seems to be happening more in the arena of war than in other images.
The LA Times was caught splicing 2 photos together to make a composite image (some figures from one, a different pose of a soldier in another). The resulting image looked like a US soldier (with a rifle) was "halting" a refugee and his son.
And then there was this othe LA Times staffer, a female journalist/activist who has tried to spin events and manipulate perception.
Undercover Photographer: L.A. Times staffer crosses a line, again. [Hugh Hewitt mentioned] (www.NationalReview.com ^ | 05/14/2002)
Little critical attention has been given to the recent antics of Los Angeles Times staff photographer Carolyn Cole, who on May 2 joined a group of "peace activists" who had clandestinely entered Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity, in solidarity with the Palestinian militants holding dozens of civilians and clergymen hostage.Upon her arrival inside the holy site, Cole took on the dual role of photographer and reporter for the Times, offering first-person accounts from within the church.
The Times, often accused of carrying an anti-Israeli grudge, confirmed many of its critics' suspicions by printing Cole's blatantly pro-Palestinian church dispatches. Cole even noted that she felt safer with the Palestinian militants than she did with the Israelis. (A collection of her like-minded photos from inside the church appear in this week's Time.)
And prior to that she'd been arrested in Florida when she attempted to start a "Cuban" riot in Florida by throwing rocks at police when Cubans were protesting Reno's abduction of Ellian.