Iran鈥檚 pro-Ahmadinejad media: Using fake crowd photos?
Photo appears altered to make the size of a pro-government rally look bigger
What do you do if your pro-government rallies aren鈥檛 big enough?
Turn to Photoshop.
Copy a section of the photo, and fill in the empty spots with more people.
That鈥檚 what it looks like happened at a pro-Ahmadinejad rally.
A photo is making the rounds in the blogosphere and Twitter. It looks like it was first exposed on the website of an Iranian photographer, Mohammad Kheirkhah. He鈥檚 worked for several Iranian, British, and US news organizations. But he didn't take the photo.
to see it.
Journalists who have visited Iran say this is not unusual.
鈥淭he regime often does this on huge anniversaries, if the images don't look good enough. I've seen it done before the on the cover of Kayhan,鈥� says a Western photographer.
Kayhan is one of the most conservative Iranian newspapers. It鈥檚 published by the Kayhan Institute and is under the direct supervision of Ayatolah Khameini鈥檚 office.
The text on the photographer鈥檚 site indicates that鈥檚 where this photo came from: the front page of Kayhan.
The Farsi headline on the photo says:
鈥淣ation's Unprecedented, Million March Finishes the Job鈥� [of the election]
The subhead: 鈥淯nprecendented Tehran People's Rally in Support of Ahmadinejad鈥�
Really?
The New York Times ran these famous photos after an Iranian missile test last year. The photos originally came from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard鈥檚 news website, Sepah News.
Three missiles were launched, but the photo was altered. Via the magic of digital software, a fourth missile was added to the mix.
Photos via Newscom/File
Apparently, the propaganda war continues.