Iranian Fauxtography Bust

Sun, Feb 18, 2007 at 10:59:15 am PST

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.