Monday, February 6, 2012

Photographic Truth in a Digital Era

I read an article written and published by the Media Awareness Group, a Canadian non-profit organization that provides "Resources and support for everyone interested in media literacy and digital literacy for young people." The article's title is Photographic Truth in a Digital Era, the article provides great examples of digital manipulation and what it can be used to achieve, both good and evil. 

The article brings up many excellent points but the one I found especially interesting was about how digital manipulation can add credibility to urban legends and hoaxes. Individuals can use photography to add validity to something that is untrue. The example below shows how digital manipulation was used to add credibility to a widely-circulated hoax. In the aftermath of the horrific attack on the World Trade Center, a photo surfaced of a tourist being photographed just seconds before the tragedy. Supposedly, the camera containing the shot was found in the rubble of the twin towers. 

 Simply making a statement isn't as effective without evidence, now it is possible to create a photo that looks real, supports your claim, but was created in Photoshop

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