Iraqi woman lies her ass off - AFP happy to oblige

[Leoryn]

Originally posted by Darion
What's wrong with this picture?

http://news.yahoo.com/photo/070814/p...e988aa146f5f76

Besides the obvious, isn't this the same woman who had her house blown up... two separate ways on two separate occasions?

[Darion]

Originally posted by Leoryn
Besides the obvious, isn't this the same woman who had her house blown up... two separate ways on two separate occasions?

Who knows? It is pointless to continue to point out other faked news, however, as the AP's credibility is already generally agreed-upon as nil.

[Aristotle]

Originally posted by Darion
much the same way as no slug gets fired at a house with the casing still attached.

There is another reason this specific example bothers me, and makes me very distrustful of the way wars are being reported.

I have never been in the military. The only guns I have ever fired are a couple .22 rifles and a few shotguns. In other words, I know very little about guns.

But as soon as I saw that picture, I knew that was a brand spankin' new unfired round.

The fact that the reporters did not know this means they are WOEFULLY undereducated about the subject matter upon which they are reporting. That means they are there just as zealots rather than journalists.

[Rosuav]

Originally posted by Darion
So you draw a moral equivalence between "say cheese" at a photo op and "slap a bandage on that kid's head, it will look more impressive than area shots" at the aftermath of a bombing. That is certainly an interesting way of thinking.

Not equivalence. It's more of a spectrum. And if, as others have suggested, the photos are selected from offerings by local photographers, and quite possibly the selection is done by people with more journalistic than ballistic skill, then it's easy to see how problems can crop up.

[Maelgrim]

Not equivalence. It's more of a spectrum. And if, as others have suggested, the photos are selected from offerings by local photographers, and quite possibly the selection is done by people with more journalistic than ballistic skill, then it's easy to see how problems can crop up.

This is fine, if the publication is some two-bit asswipe tabloid in a supermarket stand. But these are supposedly reputable publications. Publications which are referenced in our bodies of government.

To bring the example home, Rosuav, watch a senate proceeding. Make a note every time a media publication is inferenced in a question or challenge. These are publications read and watched by our members of parliament. Do you really want the people running the country to be influenced by lies? Do you really want their time wasted in VERIFYING what is truth in publication, when it is theoretically the responsibility of the publications' EDITORS to be actually doing their fucking job and ENSURING that the material in the publication is, as far as can be assured, true?

Is it too much to ask for a little responsibility on the part of the messenger? A channel 9 news presenter scoffed a challenge like that off today with 'Shoot the messenger, why don't you?'. My answer to her and her ilk is "How about giving us the correct fucking message, then maybe you won't get shot?"

[Darion]

Originally posted by Rosuav
Not equivalence. It's more of a spectrum.

So, it's not equivalence. It's a spectrum... of... equivalence...?

And if, as others have suggested, the photos are selected from offerings by local photographers, and quite possibly the selection is done by people with more journalistic than ballistic skill, then it's easy to see how problems can crop up.

Ballistic skill has nothing to do with anything. There are a countless number of people out there that have never seen a gun - these people will still understand that the story reported by the AFP is an out-and-out lie. All you have to do is watch an episode of CSI, and lord knows they have sixteen versions airing constantly. This is far beyond simple mistakes slipping through the cracks here and there.

No, you see, the photos are purchased from people hired as freelancers by news agencies. They essentially abuse internet contacts to come up with photos from a certain area without actually having to go there. Freelancers tend to be locals, as actual AP/AFP/whoever jounalists have a nasty habit of getting kidnapped on a reasonably consistent basis. This is sometimes unavoidable due to stupidity. Thus, the freelancers are generally content to stage some photos and attempt to perpetuate the jihad of the tongue via obviously faked-up nonsense. The AP/AFP are pleased to buy them, because it beats being accosted by masked men at gunpoint, having your interpreter murdered in front of you, and being held hostage.