Kerby Anderson

Media critics have for years decried the proliferation of “fake news” and have been especially critical when quotes and comments were ripped out of context. J.J. McCullough recently wrote about another related issue that isn’t given enough coverage. A liberal press often runs photos that are “obviously ripped out of context.”

Since he is a Canadian, McCullough begins his piece by talking about a deceptive photo of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and President Donald Trump. They are seated in those two famous chairs in the Oval Office. Trump is extending his hand for a handshake, and Trudeau is merely looking at his hand. The photo went viral because it showed Trudeau’s dislike of Trump and his unwillingness to shake the president’s hand.

But that’s not what happened. “The damning photo was surgically extracted from the split second in which the Trump’s hand extended just before Trudeau’s rose to meet it.” Of course, that’s not what the photo showed.

Which brings us to the worst editorial photograph of the year. John Moore accompanied the US Border Patrol to the bank of the Rio Grande to get a photograph that he believed would convey “the emotional impact of family separation.” He took a picture of a toddler crying as her mother from Honduras was patted down by border agents.

The picture went viral because it showed the pain of separating children from their parents at the border. There was just one problem. The mother and daughter were not separated. They were detained since she is seeking asylum. The photo not only went viral, but Time magazine put the same image of the child on the cover with President Donald Trump under the caption “Welcome to America.”

We are told that a picture is worth a thousand words. Unfortunately, we are also seeing that a photo ripped out of context can be as erroneous as fake news.