Editing Photograph manipulation (section)

== Political and ethical issues ==
[[File:Hitler in the Odeonsplatz Munich 2 August 1914 by Heinrich Hoffmann.jpg|thumb|upright=1.75|A photograph by [[Heinrich Hoffmann (photographer)|Heinrich Hoffmann]] was manipulated to show [[Adolf Hitler]] celebrating the outbreak of World War&nbsp;I in Munich.<ref>[http://www.smh.com.au/world/famous-hitler-photograph-declared-a-fake-20101019-16sfv.html "Famous Hitler photograph declared a fake"] ''[[Sydney Morning Herald]]'' (20 October 2010). Accessed 22 March 2022.</ref><ref>{{cite book |last= Rosenbaum |first=Ron |url=https://archive.org/details/secretpartsoffor00rose/page/495/ |title=The Secret Parts of Fortune: Three Decades of Intense Investigations and Edgy Enthusiasms |publisher=Random House |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-375-50338-2 |page=495 |author-link=Ron Rosenbaum |url-access=limited}}</ref>]]

Photo manipulation has been used to deceive or persuade viewers or improve storytelling and self-expression.<ref name="Rotman">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qQE0OLSIXsEC&q=photograph+has+an+inherent+verisimilitude&pg=PA96 |title=Becoming Beside Ourselves: The Alphabet, Ghosts, and Distributed Human Being |publisher=Duke University Press |author=Rotman, Brian |year=2008 |pages=96–97 |isbn=978-0-8223-4183-3}}</ref> As early as the [[American Civil War]], photographs were published as engravings based on more than one negative.<ref name="Palmquist">{{cite book |title=Pioneer Photographers from the Mississippi to the Continental Divide: A Biographical Dictionary, 1839–1865 |publisher=Stanford University Press |author=Peter E. Palmquist, Thomas R. Kailbourn |year=2005 |pages=55 |isbn=978-0-8047-4057-9}}</ref> In 1860, a photograph of the politician John Calhoun was manipulated and his body was used in another photograph with the head of the president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. This photo credits itself as the first manipulated photo.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://iisjoa.org/sites/default/files/iisjoa/2017/PDF/11.%20Jitendra%20Sharma%20&%20Rohita%20Sharma.pdf |title=Analysis of Key Photo Manipulation Cases and their Impact on Photography |last=Sharma |first=Jitendra & Rohita |date=2017}}</ref>

[[Joseph Stalin]] made use of photo retouching for propaganda purposes.<ref>{{cite book |last=King |first=D. |year=1997 |title=The Commissar Vanishes: the falsification of Photographs and Art in Stalin's Russia |publisher=Metropolitan Books |location=New York |isbn=0-8050-5294-1}}</ref> On May 5, 1920, his predecessor [[Vladimir Lenin]] held a speech for Soviet troops that [[Leon Trotsky]] attended. Stalin had Trotsky retouched out of a photograph showing Trotsky in attendance.<ref name="Ammann">{{cite book |first=Daniel |last=Ammann |title=[[The King of Oil: The Secret Lives of Marc Rich]] |publisher=Macmillan |year=2009 |pages=228 |isbn=978-1-4299-8685-4}}</ref> In a well-known case of ''[[damnatio memoriae]]'' ("condemnation of memory") image manipulation, [[NKVD]] leader [[Nikolai Yezhov]], after his execution in 1940, was removed from an official press photo where he was pictured with Stalin; historians subsequently nicknaming him the "Vanishing Commissar".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.newseum.org/berlinwall/commissar_vanishes/vanishes.htm |title="The Commissar Vanishes" in The Vanishing Commissar |author=The Newseum |date=Sep 1, 1999 |access-date=September 30, 2012}}</ref> Such [[censorship of images in the Soviet Union]] was common.

The pioneer among journalists distorting photographic images for news value was [[Bernarr Macfadden]]: in the mid-1920s, his "[[composograph]]" process involved reenacting real news events with costumed [[body double]]s and then photographing the dramatized scenes—then pasting faces of the real news-personalities (gathered from unrelated photos) onto his staged images.{{Citation needed|date=February 2021}}

A photograph by [[Adolf Hitler]]'s official photographer [[Heinrich Hoffmann (photographer)|Heinrich Hoffmann]] was manipulated to show Hitler celebrating the outbreak of [[World War I|World War&nbsp;I]] in Munich.<ref>[http://www.smh.com.au/world/famous-hitler-photograph-declared-a-fake-20101019-16sfv.html "Famous Hitler photograph declared a fake"] ''[[Sydney Morning Herald]]'' (20 October 2010). Accessed 22 March 2022.</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Rosenbaum |first=Ron |author-link=Ron Rosenbaum |url=https://archive.org/details/secretpartsoffor00rose/page/495/ |title=The Secret Parts of Fortune: Three Decades of Intense Investigations and Edgy Enthusiasms |publisher=Random House |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-375-50338-2 |page=495 |url-access=limited}}</ref> In the 1930s, artist [[John Heartfield]] used a type of photo manipulation known as the [[photomontage]] to critique [[propaganda in Nazi Germany|Nazi propaganda]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Political Art. Official John Heartfield Exhibition. Integrity. Courage. Genius |url=https://www.johnheartfield.com/John-Heartfield-Exhibition/ |access-date=2023-02-19 |website=John Heartfield Exhibition |language=en-US}}</ref>

Some ethical theories have been applied to image manipulation. During a panel on the topic of ethics in image manipulation<ref>{{cite conference |url=http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1179176 |title=Ethics in image manipulation |conference=International Conference on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques |year=2006 |isbn=1-59593-364-6 |first1=Kathryn |last1=Carlson |first2=Brian |last2=DeLevie |first3=Aude |last3=Oliva |doi=10.1145/1179171.1179176 |publisher=[[Association for Computing Machinery|ACM]] |book-title=ACM SIGGRAPH 2006|url-access=subscription }}</ref> [[Aude Oliva]] theorized that categorical shifts are necessary in order for an edited image to be viewed as a manipulation. In ''Image Act Theory'',<ref>{{cite conference |last=Reynolds |first=C. J. |title=Image Act Theory |conference=Seventh International Conference of Computer Ethics |date=July 12–14, 2007 |url=http://www.k2.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp/members/carson/papers/reynolds_cepe2007.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080528064429/http://www.k2.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp/members/carson/papers/reynolds_cepe2007.pdf |archive-date=May 28, 2008 |df=mdy-all}}</ref> Carson Reynolds extended [[speech act]] theory by applying it to photo editing and image manipulations. In "How to Do Things with Pictures",<ref>{{cite book |chapter-url=http://www.stanford.edu/class/history34q/readings/Mitchell/MitchellHow.html |chapter=How to Do Things with Pictures |first=William John |last=Mitchell |author-link=William J. Mitchell |title=The Reconfigured Eye: Visual Truth in the Post-Photographic Era |publisher=MIT Press |year=1994}}</ref> [[William J. Mitchell]] details the long history of photo manipulation and discusses it critically.

Photo manipulation is largely considered a useful tool in modern political campaigning and photo manipulations are oftentimes used to amplify political messages and undermine political opponents.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Harwell |first=Drew |date=2020-01-14 |title=Doctored images have become a fact of life for political campaigns. When they're disproved, believers 'just don't care.' |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/01/14/doctored-political-images/ |access-date=2024-03-31 |newspaper=Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}</ref> For example, on January 6, 2020, US Rep. [[Paul Gosar]] (R-Ariz.) tweeted a photo of US President [[Barack Obama]] shaking hands with Iranian President [[Hassan Rouhani]], with the caption "The world is a better place without these guys in power."<ref name="The Washington Post">{{Cite news |last=Thebeault |first=Reis |date=January 6, 2020 |title=A GOP congressman tweeted a fake image of Obama with the Iranian President. They never met. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/01/06/gop-congressman-tweeted-fake-image-obama-with-iranian-president-they-never-met/ |access-date=2023-04-03 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}</ref> It was pointed out that this meeting never took place and in reality was a doctored photo of a meeting between President Obama and Indian Prime Minister [[Manmohan Singh]].<ref name="The Washington Post"/> Gosar was criticized for attempting to spread disinformation. The photo had also been previously used in a 2015 advert for Senator [[Ron Johnson]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Qiu |first=Linda |date=2020-01-06 |title=Republican Congressman Shares Fake Image of Obama and Iranian President |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/06/us/politics/paul-gosar-obama-iran.html |access-date=2023-04-03 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

In 2023, the organizers of Dublin Pride were accused of "intentionally doctoring photos" to push "propaganda" when they posted an altered image from a 1983 protest, in which the slogan ''"Trans rights are human rights"'' was added to a sign carried by a demonstrator.<ref name="Pride1983">{{Cite web|url=https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/dublin-pride-removes-altered-photo-of-protest-from-its-website-after-complaints/a1068338702.html|title=Dublin Pride removes altered photo of protest from its website after complaints|website=www.independent.ie|date=August 13, 2023 |access-date=17 March 2024|archive-date=14 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230814012102/https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/dublin-pride-removes-altered-photo-of-protest-from-its-website-after-complaints/a1068338702.html|url-status=live}}</ref> A spokesman for Dublin Pride defended the change, saying that the "practice of altering iconic images for campaigns is a common practice".<ref name="Pride1983" /> The altered image was ultimately removed from the Dublin Pride website.<ref name="Pride1983" />

{{ multiple image | total_width=500
| image1= Wright First Flight 1903Dec17 (full restore 115).jpg |caption1= 1903 achromatic photo of the ''[[Wright Flyer]]'' 
| image2= Wright First Flight 1903Dec17 (full restore 115, colorized).jpg  |caption2= A 2021 [[Hand-colouring of photographs|colorized]] version
}}

[[File:Pillars of Creation (NIRCam and MIRI Composite Image) (pillarsofcreation composite).jpeg|thumb|upright=1.4|The [[James Webb Space Telescope]] returns data representing [[infrared]] light, which is invisible to humans. This composite representation of the ''[[Pillars of Creation]]'' was artificially generated by [[False color|converting]] the infrared data into the visible-color spectrum.]]

=== Use in journalism ===
{{See also|Photojournalism#Ethical, legal, and social considerations}}

A notable incident of controversial photo manipulation occurred over a photograph that was altered to fit the vertical orientation of a 1982 ''[[National Geographic (magazine)|National Geographic]]'' magazine cover. The altered image made two [[Egyptian pyramids]] appear closer together than they actually were in the original photograph.<ref name=NYT>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/11/04/magazine/photography-s-new-bag-of-tricks.html?pagewanted=4 |publisher=The New York Times Company |date=November 4, 1984 |author=Fred Ritchin |title=Photography's New Bag Of Tricks |access-date=January 6, 2016}}</ref> The incident triggered a debate about the appropriateness of falsifying an image,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Moscaritolo |first=Angela |date=July 5, 2016 |title=National Geographic Tackles Photo Manipulation |url=https://www.pcmag.com/news/national-geographic-tackles-photo-manipulation |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240712225937/https://www.pcmag.com/news/national-geographic-tackles-photo-manipulation |archive-date=July 12, 2024 |access-date=May 2, 2025 |website=PCMag |language=en}}</ref> and raised questions regarding the magazine's credibility. Shortly after the incident, Tom Kennedy, director of photography for ''[[National Geographic]]'' stated, "We no longer use that technology to manipulate elements in a photo simply to achieve a more compelling graphic effect. We regarded that afterward as a mistake, and we wouldn't repeat that mistake today."<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sharma |first=Jitendra |last2=Sharma |first2=Rohita |title=Analysis of Key Photo Manipulation Cases and their Impact on Photography |url=https://iisjoa.org/sites/default/files/iisjoa/2017/PDF/11.%20Jitendra%20Sharma%20&%20Rohita%20Sharma.pdf |url-status=live |journal=IIS University Journal of Arts |volume=6 |issue=1 |pages=88-99 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250311204454/https://iisjoa.org/sites/default/files/iisjoa/2017/PDF/11.%20Jitendra%20Sharma%20&%20Rohita%20Sharma.pdf |archive-date=March 11, 2025 |via=IIS University Journal of Arts}}</ref>

There are other incidents of questionable photo manipulation in journalism. One such incident occurred in early 2005 after [[Martha Stewart]] was released from prison. ''[[Newsweek]]'' used a photograph of Stewart's face on the body of a much slimmer woman for their cover, suggesting that Stewart had lost weight while in prison.<ref name= NYT2005>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/03/business/media/martha-stewart-gets-new-body-in-newsweek.html?_r=0 |title=Martha Stewart Gets New Body In Newsweek |work=[[The New York Times]] |author=Jonathan D. Glater |date=March 3, 2005 |access-date=January 6, 2015}}</ref> Speaking about the incident in an interview, Lynn Staley, assistant managing editor at ''Newsweek'' said, "The piece that we commissioned was intended to show Martha as she would be, not necessarily as she is." Staley also explained that ''Newsweek'' disclosed on page 3 that the cover image of Martha Stewart was a composite.<ref name=NYT2005 />

Image manipulation software has affected the level of trust many viewers once had in the aphorism "the camera never lies".<ref name=IntlNYT2004>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/11/technology/the-camera-never-lies-but-the-software-can.html |title=The Camera Never Lies, But The Software Can |publisher=The New York Times Company |author=Katie Hefner |date=March 11, 2004}}</ref> Images may be manipulated for fun, aesthetic reasons, or to improve the appearance of a subject<ref name=Photo>{{cite book |last=Kitchin |first=Rob |title=Code/Space: Software and Everyday Life |year=2011 |publisher=The MIT Press |isbn=978-0-262-04248-2 |chapter=6 |page=120 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZHez2BXgIeQC&pg=PA120}}</ref> but not all image manipulation is innocuous, as evidenced by the [[Kerry Fonda 2004 election photo controversy]]. The image in question was a fraudulent composite image of [[John Kerry]] taken on June 13, 1971, and [[Jane Fonda]] taken in August 1972 sharing the same platform at a 1971 antiwar rally, the latter of which carried a fake [[Associated Press]] credit with the intent to change the public's perspective of reality.<ref name="IntlNYT2004" />

There is a growing body of writings devoted to the ethical use of digital editing in [[photojournalism]]. In the [[United States]], for example, the [[National Press Photographers Association]] (NPPA) established a Code of Ethics which promotes the accuracy of published images, advising that photographers "do not manipulate images [...] that can mislead viewers or misrepresent subjects."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://nppa.org/code_of_ethics |title=NPPA Code of Ethics |date=January 28, 2017 |publisher=[[National Press Photographers Association]]}}</ref> Infringements of the Code are taken very seriously, especially regarding digital alteration of published photographs, as evidenced by a case in which [[Pulitzer Prize]]-nominated photographer [[Allan Detrich]] resigned his post following the revelation that a number of his photographs had been manipulated.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.pdnonline.com/pdn/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003571795 |title=Blade Editor: Detrich Submitted 79 Altered Photos This Year |work=[[Photo District News]] |date=April 15, 2007 |first=Daryl |last=Lang}}</ref>

In 2010, a Ukrainian photographer{{Snd}}Stepan Rudik, winner of the 3rd prize story in Sports Features{{Snd}}was disqualified due to violation of the rules of the [[World Press Photo of the Year|World Press Photo]] contest. "After requesting [[Raw image format|RAW-files]] of the series from him, it became clear that an element had been removed from one of the original photographs."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Announcement of disqualification |url=http://www.worldpressphoto.org/news/2010-03-03/announcement-disqualification |website=World Press Photo |access-date=2016-01-22 }}{{Dead link|date=May 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> As of 2015, up to 20%<ref>{{Cite web |title=World Press Photo Organizer: 20% of Finalists Disqualified |url=https://time.com/3706626/world-press-photo-processing-manipulation-disqualified/ |website=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=February 12, 2015 |access-date=2016-01-22}}</ref> of World Press Photo entries that made it to the penultimate round of the contest were disqualified after they were found to have been manipulated or post-processed with rules violations.<ref>{{Cite web |title=What counts as manipulation? |url=http://www.worldpressphoto.org/activities/photo-contest/verification-process/what-counts-as-manipulation |website=World Press Photo |access-date=2016-01-22 }}{{Dead link|date=May 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>