Photographs and lies

Editorial

The devastation in Lebanon is enormous – though not as enormous as we may have been led to believe.

A scandal is brewing over allegedly doctored photos that have been disseminated through the world's most reliable wire services.

The Jerusalem Post reports that a Reuters photographer was fired and 900 of his shots removed from their service. Other media agencies, including the BBC, the New York Times and the Associated Press "have been forced to recall photos or change captions following inaccuracies pointed out in online forums."

Among the suspect photos are two that purportedly depict the same woman crying over her destroyed home, two weeks apart and in different locations. In another case, a photo of an Israeli plane was altered to make it appear to be dropping bombs.

In a New York Times photo essay, a man who appears dead is accompanied with a caption reading, "bodies were still buried under the rubble." But, in a later photograph in the same series, reports the Post, "the same man appears to be walking in the foreground of a photo. The Times issued a correction for the first photograph, stating that the man was injured."

There is a list of ongoing controversies over not only photographic reporting but the journalism around this war more generally. And while the old adage says that truth is the first casualty of war, there should be an addendum where Israel is concerned. Throughout the history of the six-decade struggle against the Jewish presence in the Middle East, veracity has never been the top concern of Israel's enemies. Israel, with one of the world's freest and most investigative media, is accused of the basest inhumanity. Regardless of their falsity, these stories, doctored photos and allegations impact the world's attitude to the conflict.

One of the reasons the falsehoods have been purveyed non-stop for 58 years is because there have been few, if any, repercussions for the perpetrators. In fact, judging by the world's willingness to believe the most extreme assertions about Israel, while granting jihadists the benefit of the doubt, lies work just as well as truth.

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