The Associated Press recently reported that Fox News removed digitally altered photos from its website after the Seattle Times noted misleading images used in the network's coverage about a Seattle neighborhood that's become a protest center against police brutality and racial injustice.
The newspaper found that the Fox News website featured at least two photos that inserted an image of a man standing with a military-style rifle, and that there were no disclaimers on how they were manipulated when featured on the network’s website for most of the day.
The Shop Talk panelists find it ironic that Fox viewers sometimes accuse other media outlets of reporting fake news. The panelists consider it immoral to make up stuff to attract an audience, and they point out authoritarian regimes doctor images for propaganda.
The panelists said there is a difference between a mistake and a deliberate manipulation of information.
Shop Talk is a weekly panel discussion about journalism issues. This week’s program featured Will Buss, who teaches in the Department of Broadcasting and Journalism at Western Illinois University and advises the student editors at the Western Courier, the students at student radio station The Dog, and the WIU chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists; Rajvee Subramanian, who teaches in the Department of Broadcasting and Journalism at Western Illinois University; and TSPR News Director Rich Egger.
