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China: Sorry for This Fake Photo

State news agency apologizes for doctored image of antelopes near train

By Jonas Oransky,  Newser Staff

Posted Feb 22, 2008 5:12 PM CST
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(Newser) – China’s state-run news service has apologized for running—and honoring—a doctored photo that aided the government’s argument about a new train line's environmental impact. The 2006 image showed antelopes frolicking under Tibetan tracks, purportedly demonstrating that the beloved beasts weren’t affected by them. It worked, until sleuths noticed the telltale signs of Photoshop, the Wall Street Journal reports.

After it ran, the government honored the photo as one of the best of the year. But bloggers noted inexplicable lines across the image and pointed out that many of the antelope were pregnant out of season. The photographer admitted to the fabrication and quit his newspaper job. "It’s such a perfect propaganda photo,” said one researcher.

The faked shot, credited to photographer Liu Weiqiang, appears to show antelopes crossing near a bridge on the Qinghai-Tibet railway.
The faked shot, credited to photographer Liu Weiqiang, appears to show antelopes crossing near a bridge on the Qinghai-Tibet railway.   (China.com)
The first train from Lhasa Railway Station travels on the Tibetan grasslands near Lhasa, Tibet Saturday July 1, 2006. (AP Photo/Color China Photo)
The first train from Lhasa Railway Station travels on the Tibetan grasslands near Lhasa, Tibet Saturday July 1, 2006. (AP Photo/Color China Photo)   (Associated Press)
A view of the the Lhalu Wetland National Nature Reserve located in the city proper of Lhasa, western China's Tibet province, is seen Friday, July 27, 2007. One of the highest and largest wetland in China, the Lhalu is an example of the fragile ecosystem that has critics cry foul...
A view of the the Lhalu Wetland National Nature Reserve located in the city proper of Lhasa, western China's Tibet province, is seen Friday, July 27, 2007. One of the highest and largest wetland in China,...   (Associated Press)
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Photographer is blacklisted
Associated Press

More from Xinhua on the scandal
Xinhua (China)

 
China • Beijing • photograph • Tibet • Photoshop • hoax • Xinhua • antelope • doctored photo

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