It’s no surprise, I guess, that fauxtography is a phenomenon not confined to the Middle East. Today, Chinese authorities admitted that one of their best propaganda photos is a fake. Here is the photo, which was designed to show how a Chinese railroad to Tibet coexists harmoniously with an endangered antelope species:
It turns out that the photographer, who initially claimed that he spent eight days lying in a pit, waiting for the antelope and the train to come along at the same moment, in fact simply photoshopped the two together.
The photoshopping of propaganda pictures is a drearily familiar story, but what makes this noteworthy, I think, is the photographer’s confession:
Mr. Liu resigned from the Daqing Evening News and posted a statement on his blog. “I have no reason to continue my sacred career as a newsman,” he wrote. “I am not qualified for the job.” His editor then resigned, too, and the newspaper posted an apology on its Web site.
It’s a refreshing contrast with the reactions of many American newsmen and their editors who have been caught in similar frauds.
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