March 14, 2013

iMediaEthics
The New York Post’s lurid cover Wednesday perfectly befits its subject: “Cannibal Cop” Gilberto Valle, who was found guilty Tuesday of conspiracy to kidnap and eat women.

That photo of Valle on the front isn’t the real thing, though, Sydney Smith reports.

But, after half an hour of looking at the online version of the photo, iMediaEthics finally spotted a tiny disclosure INSIDE the photo confirming our suspicions: The New York Post created a composite — or Photoshopped — photo.

“Typically, such disclosures and photo credits are placed outside the photo, not INSIDE it,” Smith writes. Her piece includes a kicky animated GIF that strongly suggests the Valle head on the front comes from a headshot.

Front page courtesy the Newseum

Perhaps more corrosive than the Post’s assault on photo-ethics standards: the dining puns made in its story about Valle’s guilty verdict: “Reality bites! Cannibal cop guilty, facing life on prison diet” reads one piece, which notes that several pieces of evidence “cooked Valle’s defense.”

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Andrew Beaujon reported on the media for Poynter from 2012 to 2015. He was previously arts editor at TBD.com and managing editor of Washington City…
Andrew Beaujon

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