Axis of Evil
faked Missile Reminiscent of “Green Helmet Guy” and Other Staged News Events
Iran Does it again
Revelations today (July 10) that Iran apparently faked a “fourth” missile in photos published in newspapers across the globe are a reminder that this isn’t the first time Iran and its terrorist proxies have gotten caught staging news scenes. During Israel’s defensive war against Hezbollah two years ago, the phenomenon was so common that it became known as “Hezbollywood.” [1]
And six months ago in Gaza, leaders of Iran-backed Hamas purposely dimmed the lights in their government meeting rooms to pretend that Israel had cut off electricity to Gaza. They invited photographers to the scene to show them supposedly having to work by candlelight. Journalists weren’t fooled – they noted that it was daytime and that the curtains had been drawn to cloak the room in darkness. [2]
Said Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, founder and president of The Israel Project, “The Iranian leaders would like us to believe that with 3,000 spinning centrifuges in the works, they are not developing nuclear weapons. But if we cannot trust photos of their missile system from their official press offices, how can we trust that the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism is telling the truth about their nuclear program?”
Similar incidents of staged news photos and footage that occurred during Hezbollah’s 34-day war against Israel include:
- A man purporting to be a rescue worker at the site of a bombed village appeared in various photos in the international media, repeatedly displaying the same child’s dead body at different times – and in different poses – throughout the day. The man, identified as Salam Daher, wore a green helmet in all of the photos, earning himself the nickname “green helmet guy.” Daher was also found to have directed a camera shooting the scene. [3] [4]
- Reuters freelance photographer Adnan Hajj used Photoshop to doctor his pictures, darkening and enhancing plumes of smoke over Beirut to make damage to the city appear worse. Hajj was found to have manipulated another widely disseminated photo showing an Israeli jet dropping three flares over Lebanon; Hajj had used Photoshop to add two of the flares, which were identified in the caption as “missiles.” His exploitations resulted in Reuters firing him [5] and withdrawing all of his almost 1,000 photos in its archives. [6]
- Two pictures showed the same woman weeping as she stood in front of her destroyed Beirut home; it was later discovered that the two homes were in different locations and were taken two weeks apart. The photos had been used by The Associated Press and Reuters. [7]
Images of past staged events:
"Green Helmet Guy" acting as movie director in Qana (video)
Picture doctored with Photoshop during Hezbollah War (Photo courtesy BBC News)
Footnotes:
[1] Lyons, Andrew Ford, “Digitally Erasing a Massacre: Why Hezbollywood Was Born,” Counterpunch, Aug. 15, 2006
[2] Soltis, Andy, “Hamas Dim Bulbs in Fake-Blackout Ruse,” The New York Post, Jan. 30, 2008
[3] Kalb, Marvin & Saivetz, Carol, “The Israeli-Hezbollah War of 2006: The Media as a Weapon in Asymmetrical Conflict,” research paper prepared at the Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy, Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, for presentation at the U.S.-Islamic World Forum in Doha, Qatar on Feb. 18, 2007
[4] "'Green Helmet Man' Accused of Staging Pix," Fox News Channel, Aug. 15, 2006
[5] Frenkel, Sheera Claire, “Reutersgate Strikes Other News Outlets,” The Jerusalem Post, Aug. 11, 2006
[6] Lang, Daryl, “Reuters Says Freelancer Manipulated Lebanon Photos,” Photo District News Online, Aug. 7, 2006
[7] Frenkel, Sheera Claire, “Reutersgate Strikes Other News Outlets,” The Jerusalem Post, Aug. 11, 2006
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