Did Daily Mail Online use Photoshop to ‘fit up’ Jimmy Carr?
Leaving aside the bizarre not guilty verdict that allowed comedian Jimmy Carr to escape a conviction for using his mobile telephone while driving, something altogether odder happened with photographs that appeared in the Mail Online.
The Daily Mail’s web presence was suitably frothing at the not guilty verdict secured by the testimony that rather than making a telephone call, Carr was actually dictating a joke into his telephone – one apparently too inappropriate to reveal to the magistrates.
The so-called Mr Loophole, an aptly named defence lawyer called Mr Nick Freeman, was credited with the surprise verdict and was pictured grinning as he left court with a suitably more dour looking Carr.
As you can see above, Freeman was pictured behind Carr, to the comic’s right. However, in their menu column, which offers a restrictive space, Freeman appears behind Carr, to the comedian’s left. Look closely and you can see it appears to be the same photo, with the lawyer moved to ensure the two of them fitted into the aperture of the column. Quite the photographic fit up eh?
There are quite strict rules about newspapers manipulating photographs and we are very careful on what is submitted with press releases lest an overzealous picture editor spike an image rather than risk being accused of tampering.
Indeed there are plenty of cases of photographers being sacked for so-called photoshopping.