Hoax Museum Archives
Hoax Museum Hall of Fame
|
The Photoshopped Refugee?
Status: Undetermined (but most likely not photoshopped)
11points.com has posted a list of 11 photos where black people were awkwardly photoshopped in or out. Most of them I've seen before. A few of them I even have on this site. But there was one I hadn't seen before. It's titled "Photoshopped diversity in a Lebanon refugee camp." 11points provides this description:In the summer of 2006, this photo ran in the New York Times and is a very important lesson about photojournalism. If you're going to Photoshop a black guy into a Lebanese refugee camp for one of the world's most respected newspapers, at least take the time to really smooth out the edges around his head.
They provide a link to rightwinged.com, which offers a fuller analysis. Basically, the black man in the lower-right corner has a strange outline around his head, which (so rightwinged.com has concluded) is the result of a really bad cut-and-paste job.
I'm not so sure. That outline could also be caused by someone standing behind him. And if it was photoshopped, the photographer did a really good job of blending the guy's head into the photo in every other way (such as lighting and color-tone), making it odd that he would have made a mistake as obvious as forgetting to smooth out the edges around the man's head. Finally, what would have been the point of photoshopping this guy into the picture?
In any case, it's been almost three years since this photo ran in the NY Times, and they haven't yet pulled it from their site, so evidently they don't think it's photoshopped.
Listed in chronological order. Newest comments at the end.
Page 1 of 2 pages 1 2 >
He seems to have something white wrapped around his head. I live in lebanon and this guy looks quite out of place. There arent any black lebanese that I know of.
But why the hell would anyone want to photoshop a black guy into such a picture?
Posted by rolfen in beirut on Mon Jul 13, 2009 at 12:15 AM
But why the hell would anyone want to photoshop a black guy into such a picture?
Come on Alex, it's clearly a cut and paste job (I doubt they even used photoshop. Check out the really strong reflections of light off his eyes, in contrast with everyone else in that picture.
But more disturbing is "Picture 6 The white ghost in the machine" on 11points.com. So it's a pic of a girl with a laptop sitting on the lawn and smiling at the camera. On the screen of the laptop is a "reflection" of a white girl.
I've got two big problems with this. And suspect it's a fake fake.
1) The reflection is at the wrong angle if the black girl was photo'ed in.
but the main one is...
2) The image on the laptop screen is supposed to be a reflection so why can you read the name of the university the right way around (ie not backwards?) on the top the white chick is wearing?
Posted by Joel B1 in Hobart, Tasmania on Mon Jul 13, 2009 at 02:31 AM
But more disturbing is "Picture 6 The white ghost in the machine" on 11points.com. So it's a pic of a girl with a laptop sitting on the lawn and smiling at the camera. On the screen of the laptop is a "reflection" of a white girl.
I've got two big problems with this. And suspect it's a fake fake.
1) The reflection is at the wrong angle if the black girl was photo'ed in.
but the main one is...
2) The image on the laptop screen is supposed to be a reflection so why can you read the name of the university the right way around (ie not backwards?) on the top the white chick is wearing?
its a scarf that goes all the way around his neck too. Why would anyone need diversity in this picture???
Posted by mario in new joysey on Mon Jul 13, 2009 at 05:41 AM
I think Mario's right. If you look at the front of the man's head, he's clearly wearing some white thing that also goes around the back of his head.
Sometimes you get odd-lookin edges on object with (unmamipulated) digital photography.
What seems odd to me about the man in question is that his head seems much bigger than anyone else's in the photo. But that could be a trick of perspective. So I, vote "undetermined" on this one.
Posted by Big Gary in Relampago, Texas on Mon Jul 13, 2009 at 06:02 AM
Sometimes you get odd-lookin edges on object with (unmamipulated) digital photography.
What seems odd to me about the man in question is that his head seems much bigger than anyone else's in the photo. But that could be a trick of perspective. So I, vote "undetermined" on this one.
It looks to me like the head was just set on top of a woman's head...they are all wearing scarves that cover their head & neck...and I think someone just inserted the head over it. It does look fake, and I don't think the lighting looks correct. All the men are wearing standard shirts. The woman have many layers draped across them. JUST like the "head" guy.
Posted by Maegan in Tampa, FL - USA on Mon Jul 13, 2009 at 06:51 AM
I vote photoshopped because they forgot to give him a neck.
Posted by Fred in na gadda da vida on Mon Jul 13, 2009 at 09:05 AM
I can't imagine any possible motivation for adding "diversity" to this photo. It's Lebanon, Americans are going to expect everybody there to look like Yasser Arafat. Nobody's going to feel that the picture is out of balance because there are no black guys in the crowd.
Posted by Accipiter in the Northern Hemisphere, unless They have lied. on Mon Jul 13, 2009 at 09:37 AM
@ Joel B:
There'd be no need for ghosts if nor photoshop if the black girl in photo 6 were watching a video of someone wearing the university sweater.
This would also explain why the university's name is not in mirror image
Posted by Rob in Belgium on Mon Jul 13, 2009 at 01:13 PM
There'd be no need for ghosts if nor photoshop if the black girl in photo 6 were watching a video of someone wearing the university sweater.
This would also explain why the university's name is not in mirror image
Maegan's argument is compelling, but again, WHY photoshop a black man (or anybody else, for that matter) into this picture?
Here's a theory: Maybe this man is a relief worker for a U.N agency. He was supposed to be at work at the refugee camp that day, but he went to the movies instead. So he pasted himself into the picture to send to his bosses.
Posted by Big Gary in Relampago, Texas on Mon Jul 13, 2009 at 01:27 PM
Here's a theory: Maybe this man is a relief worker for a U.N agency. He was supposed to be at work at the refugee camp that day, but he went to the movies instead. So he pasted himself into the picture to send to his bosses.
I'd expect that Tyler Hicks (the photographer) would have taken a series of photographs of the place, not just one. Perhaps somebody can find some of the other photos, and could see if the guy shows up in them.
Posted by Accipiter in the Northern Hemisphere, unless They have lied. on Mon Jul 13, 2009 at 03:11 PM
Hicks has other examples of creative journalism:
http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2006/08/new-york-times-busted-in-hezbollah.html
Posted by Fred in na gadda da vida on Mon Jul 13, 2009 at 06:01 PM
http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2006/08/new-york-times-busted-in-hezbollah.html
Dunno why the need to shop him in...Maybe the face of the person there didn't look appropriate to the scene itself? The black face looks more somber for the event?
Posted by Maegan in Tampa, FL - USA on Mon Jul 13, 2009 at 06:28 PM
It looks alot like someone from slightly out of the picture's hand on the back of the man's head.
Posted by matticus in lubbock on Mon Jul 13, 2009 at 08:13 PM
@ Rob,
Thanks, nice point, (although why anyone would watch a video of a fairly "ordinary" white girl wearing a university sweat-top is beyond me)
@Maegan,
I'm opting for a smiling lady who was deemed out-of-place. And had her head pasted over. I can't think of any-other reason... (and people do smile even in really horrible situations)
Posted by Joel B1 in Hobart, Tasmania on Mon Jul 13, 2009 at 11:23 PM
Thanks, nice point, (although why anyone would watch a video of a fairly "ordinary" white girl wearing a university sweat-top is beyond me)
@Maegan,
I'm opting for a smiling lady who was deemed out-of-place. And had her head pasted over. I can't think of any-other reason... (and people do smile even in really horrible situations)
those of you who say that is not photoshopped have no clue about photoshop it is obviosly photoshopped. the white scarf "theory" is ridiculous. Who ever did this used the magnetic cutting tool and did a piss poor job of it.
Posted by Molinator on Tue Jul 14, 2009 at 12:57 AM
I originally was going to chime in and say that it looked odd, but not necessarily photoshopped... but Maegan's idea puts a spin on it that seems to explain it. If it's real, then the scarf looks awkward around his "neck" and doesn't seem natural in the way it's partially covering the back of his head. But if consider as though it's just the head itself pasted over some woman....... it all seems to make sense, actually.
Posted by AqueousBoy on Wed Jul 15, 2009 at 05:40 AM
looking at this again, I must admit that it looks like a paste over a womans head. Also I only know a few palestinians but none are black (not an impossibility but odd). I guess if somebody could find a motive for the exchange, that would be cool. And what is it with the light blue garb next to this guy??...looks like they covered something there also.
Posted by mario in new joysey on Wed Jul 15, 2009 at 11:30 AM
Mario..look at all the women. Their clothes are multi-layered. I don't know if it's due to the scarves, or just the way they dress in general...but I think it's just from seperate layers/pieces of clothing.
Posted by Maegan in Tampa, FL - USA on Wed Jul 15, 2009 at 01:26 PM
Final (maybe) thought on this, people don't just photoshop for diversity.
The "added" guy might just have been what they had available...
Posted by Joel B1 in Hobart, Tasmania on Wed Jul 15, 2009 at 11:00 PM
The "added" guy might just have been what they had available...
Maegan, you'right and Joel's simple smile theory from before is 1 of a million possible reasons. One last point would be that no other guy is wearing a head scarf, perhaps a Palestinian person woul let us know about head garb traditions for men and women in palestine. (By the way, I,m glad I'm not running for office. My flip flopping was monumental).
Posted by mario in new joysey on Thu Jul 16, 2009 at 12:35 AM
Page 1 of 2 pages 1 2 >