CAN WE TRUST WHAT WE SEE? A closer look at press photo manipulation Anna Farrington [Media and Communication] [Bachelor Thesis] [Faculty of Culture and Society] [15hp] [Spring Term/2016] [Malmö University] [Supervisor: Jakob Dittmar] Anna Farrington Abstract: It is important to know whether or not we can trust photographs we see in the news, especially in this day and age when there is an abundance of image editing programs, which makes manipulating photographs easier than ever before. This paper aims to investigate photograph manipulation in the media; how people’s social constructions can affect the way photographs are processed and perceived, and discusses whether or not we need to be concerned about image post-processing and what can be done about it. Through a semiotic photo analysis and research of representation and manipulation, this paper provides a deeper understanding of why press photo manipulation may occur. This paper concludes that manipulation of photos can be used to emphasise society’s preconceived ideas, prejudice and norms. Even though this study only covers a limited sample of manipulated image events, it is important as it shows us that manipulation of photographs in the press exists and constitutes a way of manipulating the audience’s thinking. Therefore, post processing of photographs, staging of photographs and adding misleading captions are in fact issues of concern to society, especially in today’s world where photographs can be easily disseminated to a large number of people, who may not be aware of the context of the photograph, very quickly. There is a need take steps towards the elimination of press photo manipulation in the news out of respect to the readers, to protect society from being manipulated, but also to maintain the credibility of the free media. As detection and enforcement by law difficult and expensive and therefore not practical on a global scale, we may need to complement existing press laws by continuing to rely on a combination of journalistic ethics codes and need for serious news groups to be seen as credible, but also by taking advantage of the very social media that is responsible for spreading sensational photographs around the globe to help detect manipulation and expose photographers who practice press photo manipulation. Keywords: Semiotics, manipulation, photography, news, World Press photo, representation, post processing, society, social construction. Anna Farrington Table of Contents 1 INTRODUCTION: ....................................................................................................................... 6 2 AIM AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS: ...................................................................................... 8 2.1 AIM: ............................................................................................................................................ 8 2.2 RESEARCH QUESTIONS: ............................................................................................................... 8 3 CONTEXT ................................................................................................................................... 10 4 RESEARCH OVERVIEW ......................................................................................................... 15 4.1 MANIPULATION AND ETHICS ..................................................................................................... 15 4.2 REPRESENTATION ..................................................................................................................... 17 5 THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVE ............................................................................................ 20 5.1 MANIPULATION AND ETHICS ..................................................................................................... 20 5.2 REPRESENTATION ..................................................................................................................... 21 5.2.1 Semiotics ......................................................................................................................... 22 5.2.2 Social construction ......................................................................................................... 24 5.2.3 Media regulation ............................................................................................................ 25 6 METHOD AND MATERIAL .................................................................................................... 26 6.1 GENERAL APPROACH ................................................................................................................ 26 6.2 SELECTION OF METHOD: ........................................................................................................... 26 6.2.1 Definition of manipulation .............................................................................................. 26 6.2.2 Semiotic photo analysis and representation ................................................................... 26 6.2.3 Reasons for choice of methodology ................................................................................ 28 6.3 SELECTION OF MATERIAL: ......................................................................................................... 29 6.3.1 Choosing photographs .................................................................................................... 29 6.4 CONSTRUCTION – QUESTIONS FROM A SEMIOTIC PERSPECTIVE ................................................. 31 6.4.1 Strengths and weaknesses ............................................................................................... 32 6.5 ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS ....................................................................................................... 33 6.6 VALIDITY .................................................................................................................................. 33 7 ANALYSIS: ................................................................................................................................. 35 7.1 EXAMPLES OF PHOTO MANIPULATION ....................................................................................... 35 7.2 PHOTOGRAPH 1: DIGITAL MANIPULATION - O.J. SIMPSON ................................................... 35 7.2.1 Manipulation and ethics ................................................................................................. 36 7.2.2 Representation ................................................................................................................ 37 7.3 PHOTOGRAPH 2: PHYSICAL MANIPULATION - BRITISH SOLDIER AND IRAQI CIVILIANS ......... 39 7.3.1 Manipulation and ethics ................................................................................................. 40 7.3.2 Representation ................................................................................................................ 41 7.4 PHOTOGRAPH 3: CAPTION MANIPULATION - FORMER US MARINE ...................................... 44 7.4.1 Manipulation and ethics ................................................................................................. 44 7.4.2 Representation ................................................................................................................ 45 7.5 PHOTOGRAPH 4: STAGING - CHILD SLEEPING BETWEEN TWO GRAVES ................................. 47 7.5.1 Manipulation and ethics ................................................................................................. 47 7.5.2 Representation ................................................................................................................ 48 8 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION OF RESULTS ...................................................................... 51 8.1 FINDINGS .................................................................................................................................. 51 8.1.1 Research question 1: ...................................................................................................... 51 8.1.2 Research question 2: ...................................................................................................... 52 8.1.3 Research question 3: ...................................................................................................... 53 9 CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................... 56 Anna Farrington 10 FURTHER RESEARCH ............................................................................................................ 59 11 LIST OF REFERENCES ........................................................................................................... 61 Anna Farrington Table of Figures TABLE 1 - SIGNIFIER/ SIGNIFIED – O.J. SIMPSON ..................................................................................... 37 TABLE 2 - SIGNIFIER/ SIGNIFIED - BRITISH SOLDIER AND IRAQI CIVILIANS .............................................. 41 TABLE 3 – SIGNIFIER/ SIGNIFIED - FORMER US MARINE ......................................................................... 45 TABLE 4 - SIGNIFIER/ SIGNIFIED - CHILD SLEEPING BETWEEN TWO GRAVES ............................................ 48 Table of photographs PHOTOGRAPH 1 - MANIPULATED PHOTOGRAPH OF O.J. SIMPSON ............................................................ 36 PHOTOGRAPH 2 – UN-MANIPULATED PHOTOGRAPH OF O.J. SIMPSON ..................................................... 36 PHOTOGRAPH 3 – WALKSI - ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPH 1 .........................................................................