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August 7, 2006updated 22 Nov 2022 8:31pm

Reuters admits Lebanon picture was doctored

By Press Gazette

Reuters has sacked a freelance Lebanese photographer after he used photoshop to doctor an image showing the aftermath of an Israeli air strike.

Internet bloggers alerted the agency to the fact that the image had been changed using photoshop to increase the amount of black smoke rising from the bombed building.

Reuters withdrew the image on Sunday and said it would not use photographer Adnan Hajj again.

The global news agency has made a full admission of the mistake on its website.

Reuters spokeswomman Moira Whittle said: “"The photographer has denied deliberately attempting to manipulate the image, saying that he was trying to remove dust marks and that he made mistakes due to the bad lighting conditions he was working under.

"This represents a serious breach of Reuters' standards and we shall not be accepting or using pictures taken by him.”

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