The Wire

Photojournalism is not merely the depiction of reality: New technology allows photographers to alter their images. The way in which images are framed and even staged, can change the meaning of a certain event. But Freelance photographer Adnan Hajj took his job one step further. While working from the Lebanese capital of Beirut, he manipulated a photo he took for Reuters. Using Photoshop’s cloning tool, Hajj made the scene look a lot more sensational than it was in reality, by adding smoke patterns allegedly caused by Israeli military forces. Bloggers revealed the scam, and Reuters has subsequently removed all 920 pictures by the photographer from its database.