Misleading Press Photos

We are aware that on Monday, a social media picture taken by a member of the crowd went viral. This picture appeared to show a police officer pointing a less lethal launcher at a child. 

HOWEVER, the perceptions some are making about this picture are incorrect and it has led to a false narrative.

We want to point out that two other news sources were in the crowd at that moment witnessing the events. Both of those news sources have posted on social media that the image you see in the picture does not accurately reflect what transpired. See their comments below:

Brittany Murray – Photojournalist, SCNG (Press-Telegram)

Stephen Carr – Photojournalist, SCNG (Press-Telegram)

At the time this image was taken, officers were having objects thrown at them by violent criminals embedded and hidden within the protest. The officers had both the right to defend themselves and the duty to protect other civilians in the crowd from those individuals. However, the officer did not target a child, nor the man who brought that child to the riot.

We are thankful for those in the news who posted the truth on their social media to stop a false narrative. We hope the news outlets who published or aired the story out of context will be responsible enough to ensure the whole story is truthfully told.  

It is easy for any photograph to mislead people. Just a year ago, a viral picture seemed to show Prince William “flipping off” the crowd. It wasn’t until they showed the other side of the photo that you find out how quickly you were being manipulated.

The manipulation of people through false impressions became a national news story a month ago when the press started to report on other false newscasts who were trying to manipulate photography angles to build a false narrative about social distancing.

Article: Photographer takes pics of people in public from 2 perspectives and it shows how easily the media can manipulate reality