12 September 2012

BBC sets the bar once again, lower

In Rachel Corrie resources I pointed out that a well-known photograph of the late Ms. Corrie, a second  ISM activist who apparently miraculously escaped death, an IDF bulldozer and a house could not be real. Not if the laws of physics still apply in Gaza.

One would have hoped that when a complaint is made about BBC authenticity of a photograph they would have been convinced of its genuineness rather than not convinced it is fake.

Is this the new BBC guideline for photographs? If in doubt, go ahead.

BBC responds

Sep 4 (7 days ago)

Dear Mr Guy

Thank you for getting in touch.

The image was supplied by Getty photo agency and is originally from the ISM. Our picture desk has examined the image in high resolution and is not convinced it is fake. If we discover the picture was doctored we will obviously take action but until such a time there are no grounds to remove it from the story.

Kind regards

Middle East desk, BBC News website

 The original complaint

{Complaint title:} Use of fake photograph
{Complaint:} The first photograph used to illustrate is a known Photoshop fake.

The man next to Rachel Corrie has no feet. His picture was cut and pasted into the picture. The woman casts a shadow to her left but the much-larger bulldozer casts no shadow whatsoever in that direction. If you look at the back of the bulldozer blade, the hydraulic piston’s shadow shows that the sun is coming from behind the bulldozer. She and the man in the white T-shirt should also be casting shadows in the same direction but they are not.

{URL:} http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-19391814

What would it take to convince the BBC that this picture is a fake?