9 Examples of Ethical Breaches in Photojournalism

1.

The photo on the left was edited to show 4 missiles being launched while the original photo on the right only shows three.

2.

The top two photos were combined to create the third photo which was feature on the front page of the NY Times. After viewers commented that individuals in the background seemed to appear more than once, the photographs creator, Brian Walski, admitted to editing the photos together to improve the composition.

3.

The top photo shows a freelance journalists' video camera which was edited out by cloning pieces of the background. The photo was sent to the Associated Press by Narciso Contreras, who has since lost all credibility and ties with A.P.

4.

A photo which was believe to be a Mc Donalds burning after the protests surrounding Freddy Grays death, is in fact a photo taken in Venezuela a year ago.

5.

One of the first ever 'conflict photographs' taken by Roger Fenton in 1855, while documenting the Crimean War, shows a road littered in cannonballs. There are two negatives showing this scene, one as you see above and another where the cannonballs lay on the side of the road. Someone moved the cannonballs.

6.

This cover issue of National Geographic shows the Great Pyramids of Giza, only the pyramids have been squeezed together to accommodate for the vertical cover. In reality the pyramids are not so close together.

7.

Reuters posted a photo after an Israeli airstrike in 2003 where the photographer had edited the photo to increase the amount of smoke. The manipulated image is on the left.

8.

During the OJ trial a cover story of O.J Simpson ran in Time magazine, showing a picture of him which had been edited to make his complexion darker than it actually is.

9.

The photo of a boy holding a toy gun outside of a store in New York, was in fact staged by a New York Times photographer. A correction later appeared next to the photo stating that it was staged.