Faking it in Time

Via the ever-fascinating Unqualified Reservations (whose current debate on ademotism is highly recommended to anyone with an open mind), a basic lesson in how not to doctor your journalism from Time magazine.

The photo (above) ostensibly shows  the Palestinian parliament meeting by candlelight to highlight the plight of their country* during the Israeli embargo that has left Palestinians without electricity. Follow the link for a closer look. Over to Mencius at UR:

"Notice the light shining through the curtains on the left and the right? What we see here is a badly staged photo-op. Hollywood routinely shoots indoor night scenes during the day, but they generally would put some black Mylar on the windows. For some reason this was not done, and so the comedy is inadvertent.

Think about how many people had to screw up in order for this photo to make it to Time. Maybe only three or four. But it is an invaluable "blooper," because it shows you something you weren't supposed to see. The mechanism is visible. The film set appears. Crop an inch off the left and right sides, and you see men meeting by candle-light - perhaps discussing some critical decision, in a time of stress and hardship. Restore the curtain, and you have something much more interesting."

*You may or may not forgive me for declining to humour the fashion for calling it a "territory" rather than a country, but be assured it is perfectly deliberate.