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Changing contrast in the darkroom was necessary because making a negative used to be only half the process. The other half was making a good print.

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.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carolyn_Cole

From a journalistic standpoint, I have no problem with Cole going into the church to get photos and cover the situation. If she expressed personal opinions about the situation and it wasn't labeled commentary, that's absolutely wrong. BTW, the phots she took made her a finalist for the Pulitzer that year.

Throwing rocks to stir things up would also be wrong, but I don't see in either article that she was convicted.

Here's some more about Cole that you didn't include:

In mid-2003, Cole went to Liberia, as rebels surrounded the capital, Monrovia, demanding the resignation of President Charles Taylor. This trip was to earn her the 2004 Pulitzer Prize, "for her cohesive, behind-the-scenes look at the effects of civil war in Liberia, with special attention to innocent citizens caught in the conflict."

On top of the Pulitzer win, in 2004 Cole was named both NPPA Newspaper Photographer of the Year for a second time, for her work in both Liberia and Iraq, and the Pictures of the Year International Newspaper Photographer by the University of Missouri. This made her the first person ever to win all three of America's top photojournalism awards in the same year. During the year, she also spent time in Haiti, witnessing the fall of the regime of Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

Cole has also received the Robert Capa Gold Medal from the Overseas Press Club in both 2003 and 2004, and won two World Press Photo awards in 2004.