The President’s spokesman and the military showed a poor understanding of the standards of photojournalism when they defended the release of a manipulated photograph purportedly showing a line of communist rebels standing in front of weapons they surrendered.
The photo accompanied a press release by the Army’s 9th Infantry Division, which said 306 guerrillas from the communist New People’s Army and its allied militias in Masbate recently surrendered to the government and turned in a cache of weapons.
After the photo was published, people on social media remarked that the rebels appeared to be floating in front of the table full of guns, casting no shadows, and that one of them appeared to have had a foot digitally amputated. A weapon in the foreground had a sticker that said “18 June 2019,” even though the surrender had supposedly taken place in December.
The 9th ID has since apologized for its “mistake” with the photo but insisted that the reported surrender of the 306 guerrillas was real.
But the President’s spokesman, Salvador Panelo, defended the photo, describing it erroneously as a collage.
“I was just talking to [Defense] Secretary Delfin Lorenzana. The explanation to him was, there were two pictures combined… The two [photos] were combined. That’s not manipulation.”
Philippine Army spokesman Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala said that photos of the communist rebels and firearms were “authentic” but added that they were “merged” to show the accomplishment of an army unit.
“The photo that they showed is two authentic photos of firearms and rebels, former rebels, but they merged it together so that’s where the problem and mistake lies,” he said on ANC’s “Headstart” Monday morning.
But it is a problem indeed, and a serious one that shouldn’t be played down.
The Photojournalists Center of the Philippine code of ethics specifically states that those involved in visual news gathering must “maintain the integrity of the images’ content and context during editing, being careful not to manipulate, add or alter.”
The Associated Press Code of Ethics for Photojournalists says that photos must always tell the truth. “We do not alter or digitally manipulate the content of a photograph in any way,” it says.
The problem with manipulating photos is that it casts doubt on the truth of the report itself. The President’s spokesman and the military may try to assure us that 306 rebels really surrendered, but why should we believe them?
Fortunately, the Defense secretary seems to have a better understanding of the gravity of this case and has initiated an inquiry within the Army.
“Sanctions will be meted to those who perpetrated it. This is very serious because it undermines the efforts of the whole organization,” Lorenzana said in a statement sent to journalists. “The military is doing well, enjoying an unprecedented high trust rating from the people. And now this? This action is unacceptable.”
If only the Defense chief’s colleagues in government and the military see things this way too—and resist the urge to manipulate photos and news reports in a misguided attempt to score points with the public. That’s not truth—that’s propaganda.