Iranian Fauxtography Bust
LGF readers tipped me off to a blatant Photoshop fraud at Iran’s Fars News Agency, in an article claiming to have discovered US weapons in Iran: Terrorists Use US-Gifted Arsenals. (Beware. The Fars News site resizes your browser window without asking, and may attempt other more sneaky things.)
TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- Following a Saturday report about the use of US manufactured weapons in the recent terrorist operations in Iran’s southeastern province of Sistan and Balouchestan, a security official provided FNA with a photograph of the said weaponry.
These arsenals have been confiscated during a raid on the hideout of a terrorist group known as Jondollah in the provincial capital city of Zahedan on Thursday.
This is the photo, courtesy of “EC Marm.”
Obvious enough? A close look (actually, you don’t have to look that closely) shows that many elements of this picture are cloned over and over. LGF reader Dar ul Harb has a Flash animation showing how it was done.
UPDATE at 2/18/07 11:09:45 am:
A screenshot of the page, in case they make it disappear:
UPDATE at 2/18/07 11:27:01 am:
Here’s the SWF animation created by Dar ul Harb, in case Photobucket gets unhappy with our traffic and shuts it down.
UPDATE at 2/18/07 12:36:09 pm:
P.S. Don’t forget to Digg this post.
UPDATE at 2/19/07 10:28:29 am:
Also see this update: LA Times Publishes Iran Propaganda Claim, Ignores Fauxtography.
UPDATE at 2/19/07 6:12:34 pm:
And another: Iranian Fauxtography Update.