It turns out the recent Press Information Bureau’s (PIB) Photoshopped image of Prime Minister Modi on a flood survey in Chennai wasn’t a faux pas but a practice that has been standardised for years.
NDTV has accessed the archive of the state-run agency which has revealed a similarly tampered image of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
According to the report, the picture which was sourced from the Photo Division’s website showing Manmohan Singh taking an aerial survey of what appears to be a flooded landscape. In one of the images, the view of the flooded houses is not clear. But the other one clearly shows houses and water. The two images together suggest that the second image has been edited to show the flood-hit area more clearly.
PIB’s clarification after the recent fiasco has acknowledged the use of what they call ‘merging’ techniques but have refrained from using the word ‘Photoshop’.
We have seen the pictures of photo division during the aerial surveys of former PMs in the last many years. Several pictures, including those that include Manmohan Singh, were altered to include two pictures or to show a closer view of the ground, water level and the extent of destruction. This is only to give a more realistic view of the ground situation. To call it Photoshop (altering the photo by using the Photoshop editing software) is not right.PIB official to Economic Times
The report adds that another image of former PM Manmohan Singh also appears to be merged but hasn’t been made available yet.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)