Army Alters Photographs (of dead soldiers), Issues Them To AP

[Newsjock]

Source: Columbia Journalism Review

The Associated Press retracted two government-issued photographs last night after a photographer in Texas alerted the agency that the photos in question appeared to be doctored.

Bob Owen, chief photographer of the San Antonio Express-News, notified the AP that the photos of two deceased soldiers, who died in Iraq on Sept. 14, were nearly identical. Upon examining the photos, Owens noticed that everything except for the soldier’s face, name, and rank was the same. The most glaring similarity, Owen told CJR, was that the camouflage patterns of the two uniforms were “perfectly identical.”

After inspecting the photographs, the AP confirmed that the images were, indeed, Photoshopped, and issued eliminations on the two photos.

Read more: http://www.cjr.org/the_kicker/army_alters_photographs_issues.php

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Hat tip to babylonsister for originally spotting this and posting it in GD.

[annabanana]

1. We have no big free press...

What we have is bunches of citizen journalists... Alternet, truthout, and the like need and deserve our support.

[Rebellious Republican]

2. K&R great catch! N/T

[cui bono]

3. What was the purpose of doing that? n/t

[EFerrari]

4. To show that DoD has so little regard for fallen soldiers

they don't even mind the images they release. No surprise.

[cui bono]

18. No, the purpose of the Army doctoring the photos.

What do they gain from that?

[Jamastiene]

22. That was my first question as well.

That was a dumb move if I ever saw one. It can do nothing but make them look bad. They got caught, it seems.

[No Passaran]

5. my old unit

3rd ID. What did they into?

[sudopod]

6. 1000 internets to you, babs! nt

[sabrina 1]

7. Those are the two soldiers who were murdered

last weekend by another US soldier. One of the soldiers had called his family last week and said he was 'more afraid' of their own troops than of 'the enemy'. Then the military did not tell the family the truth about their son's death.

Family of U.S. soldier in dark about 'non-hostile' death

His wife sobs as she says her stepson's death was foreshadowed by a phone call he made to her from Iraq.

"He said that he was more shaky sometimes of the soldiers than of the enemy, because of the young guys over there."

She said she asked him, "What in the world do you mean? You're afraid of your own soldiers?"

" 'These kids are trying to fight a war they know nothing about. ... They're jumpy. ... They're more scary than the enemy,' " she said he told her.

"And I said, 'Oh, God,' " said Maxine Mathis.

On any given day, CNN receives dozens of detailed news releases from the U.S. military, including those announcing U.S. military casualties. In the cases of Dawson and Durbin, there was no mention of their names, and the releases were terse.

I don't know what the photo-shopping of the pictures might have to do with all of this ...

[Whoa_Nelly]

8. Here are the two photos showing identical camos

Darris Dawson


http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Iraq-September-19-March-2006-December-2007/ss/events/iraq/082701iraqplane/s:/nm/20080919/sc_nm/iraq_lights_dc#photoViewer=/080918/480/f5e53d7b94854d5580b424e00f185fcb


Wesley Durbin


http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Iraq-September-19-March-2006-December-2007/ss/events/iraq/082701iraqplane/s:/nm/20080919/sc_nm/iraq_lights_dc#photoViewer=/080918/480/c441470ef6cd45209f1815ada01086b7

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

9. A kid on Fark...

Could do a better job than that.

[sabrina 1]

10. How awful for the families

to have to deal with their deaths, and the refusal of the military to tell them anything, even when their bodies are expected home, and then this callous, uncaring photo-shopping of pictures.

One of the murdered soldiers was named Dawson. From my link above:

Dawson and Sgt. Wesley Durbin, 26, are said to have been shot and killed by another U.S. soldier on Sunday at a base south of Baghdad.

There is a photo of him in the article. But no photo of Sgt. Wesley Durbin. It is a disgrace, but then the whole illegal war is a disgrace.

[Indenturedebtor]

12. Holy crap that's a REALLY bad photoshop job... why did they do that?

It's bizarre.

[revolve]

20. Which One was Photoshoped?

[Princess Turandot]

24. I think that Dawson's photo is the original..

primarily because the shadow behind his head looks correct for his height and head shape.

[Pab Sungenis]

13. THEY DIDN'T EVEN BOTHER TO CHANGE THE NAME PATCHES!

THIS is UNBELIEVABLE.

WHY would they want to do this? To what END?

[Whoa_Nelly]

15. The name patches are different

Dawson and Durbin...kind of looks the same

But, looks like they used Comic Sans font to type the names in place...go figure :eyes:

[Sam Ervin jret]

11. Media does matter. We could use a competent AP especially since we don't have an honest Gov't.

[Newsjock]

14. UPDATE: DOD refuses to confirm or deny Photoshopping

Source: San Antonio Express-News

An Army spokesman at Fort Stewart, Ga., acknowledged the photo of one of two soldiers killed Sunday in Iraq, and released to the Associated Press, had been digitally altered.

“AP got duped. We got duped,” Kevin Larson, a public affairs spokesman at Fort Stewart said late Friday afternoon. “Department of Defense policy clearly states that you can’t alter a photo.”

However, later Friday, Maj. Lee Peters, a public affairs officer at Fort Stewart, refused to “confirm or deny” photo manipulation occurred. “There was no intention to deceive the public,” he said, but added DOD policies and procedures would be clarified from the top down.

... Larson said the photo originated with the soldiers’ unit in Iraq, the 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, and was sent to Fort Stewart, which released it to AP. Maj. Peter said the Army is investigating the incident.

Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/28675184.html

[minnesota_liberal]

16. Disturbing, yes, but...

That the same people who paid retired generals 'n such to spew lies for the Pentagon in dozens of media outlets would stoop to photoshopping photos of dead soldiers is not a big surprise.

[tabasco]

19. You got that right.

I'll never forget the lying sack of shit one-star who briefed the press on the "fierce firefight, going in and out" to rescue Jessica Lynch.

The criminal oil cabal has corrupted every corner of our government and military.

[uppityperson]

17. "The photos were released by the U.S. Army at Fort Stewart in Georgia."

k&r

[baldguy]

21. Why bother?

Could they have been inept/stupid/uncaring enough to have simply LOST the real photos?

[TaffyMoon]

23. It has become automatic for this gov't to lie...