There’s absolutely nothing wrong with using photoshopping techniques to adjust the appearance of a photograph – as long as you are doing it in good faith and not towards some nefarious purpose like, for example, to impugn someone’s character or, in this case, question their allegiances.
For those who do not follow British politics, Jeremy Corbyn is the leader of the opposition Parliamentary Labour Party and he is often sympathetic to more classical socialist causes, leading opponents to label him a “communist” among other things.
When he took control of the Labour Party, there were those within the party that also took issue with his stances on certain party platforms – you know, the typical political infighting you will find in any organization. But Jeremy Corbyn’s supporters are a bit more sensitive to criticisms or perceived criticism of the very popular politician and, as a recent kerfuffle involving the BBC demonstrates, are more than vocal about their displeasure when they feel Corbyn is being slighted.
The latest scandal involves a supposed photoshopped picture of Jeremy Corbyn wherein the party leader appears downright Lenin-esque. In the original photo he is like any older man on the street.
So what gives? Would the BBC intentionally tweet out a picture making Jeremy Corbyn look like the iconic leader of the Bolsheviks and the founder of the Soviet Union?
Regardless of intention, the Internet seems to think this was on purpose and hell hath no fury like a Twitter user scorned.
Indeed, the photo does seem oddly edited.
Citing the photo’s edited appearance, left-wing commentator Owen Jones told the BBC in an interview, “What sort of country do we live in where the media constantly tries to portray the leader of the opposition, who was the only one who stood up in solidarity with Russia’s opposition… as an agent of foreign powers?”
The BBC for its part responded that the photo was unaltered except for the color. Some have speculated the curvature of the screen on which the photo was depicted could be responsible for the distortion.
TONIGHT: Jeremy Corbyn has warned Theresa May not to rush ahead of the evidence over the Salisbury poisoning. @davidgrossman takes a look at Labour’s stance on Russia #newsnight pic.twitter.com/PPiPC6Yo4z
— BBC Newsnight (@BBCNewsnight) March 15, 2018
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Whenever twitter users get their knickers in a twist is when one can safely assume what’s being discussed is a load of old tosh – this article is weeks out of date and the ‘noise’ has gone away which accurately reflects both the truth of the accusation and the media’s interest in it and quoting a left wing commentator isn’t exactly providing an unbiased review, what else would you expect him to say – c’mon.