Before Scott Brown, Chuck Turner didn’t get the picture By Jessica Heslam
Friday, May 6, 2011
An overzealous U.S. Sen. Scott Brown — under fire from Democrats for bragging of seeing an image of Osama bin Laden’s corpse that proved to be fake — isn’t the first Bay State politician to make an embarrassing photo blunder.
Embattled ex-Boston City Councilor Chuck Turner made a crimson-worthy gaffe in 2004 when he called a press conference and accused American soldiers of gang raping Iraqi women — saying he had the pictures to prove it.
Turner’s photos turned out to be nothing more than pornography. The Boston Globe published the photos the next day — and later apologized for it.
President Obama has said he won’t release any photos of bin Laden’s lifeless body, but fake images quickly found their way into cyberspace after his death was reported.
“People want the status or the prestige to be super in on whatever the big story is,” said Boston University communication professor Tobe Berkovitz. “You also have the pressure to be first when it comes to the news organizations.”
Most importantly, Berkovitz said, it’s the age of Photoshop.
“Thirty years ago, a photograph was considered a real portrayal of a real event, and to doctor one took a lot of skill, and people could spot it,” Berkovitz said.
That’s not the case anymore.
“Now, with all the digital technology, the validity of photographs is called into play,” the professor said. “What used to be the coin of the realm of reality — a photograph — is now just one more thing that might or might not be real. It’s very easy for people to get fooled.”
Brown’s goof has prompted a “ScottSawIt” hash tag on Twitter, where social media users barbed the junior senator for claiming to have seen a bin Laden photo.
“Scott Brown to testify at Michael Jackson doctor’s involuntary manslaughter trial,” one tweeted. “Insists Jackson is still alive & has proof.”You are not allowed to view links.
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LoginHmmmm.. this could be interesting, though it is tweeted, so we can't be sure if this statement has actually been made :? Personally, I've become a little sceptical about credibility of twitter and "It’s very easy for people to get fooled.” quoting Professor Berkovitz.