DavidB66
Senior Member.
In the UK today many newspapers carry photographs of Boris Johnson in his office speaking on the telephone to President Biden.
Various people on social media, including a normally sane, if over-excitable, TV commentator called Robert Peston, have noticed that in the photographs the spiral cord of the telephone is visible, but the reflected image in a nearby mirror does not show the cord. For some people, this is enough to launch a theory that the photographs are faked or manipulated in some way. Either the telephone cord has been photoshopped out of the reflected image (why?) or into the direct image (again, why?) Or perhaps the entire event is faked, or took place somewhere else and the scene in Johnson's office was staged later for public effect. As usual, no plausible motive is suggested for the manipulation. The photographs were all taken by the official photographer at 10 Downing Street, and no outside journalists were apparently present. so there is no independent check on the veracity of the image, but for the same reason there would be no need to photoshop the image: the official photographer could simply photograph the staged event in the office. I have not seen, and cannot imagine, any explanation of why the telephone cable should be either inserted into or removed from the photograph, or why anyone would take the trouble of doing so and not think to do it in both the direct and reflected images.
Several relevant photographs, taken from various angles, are included in this news article:
Boris Johnson speaks to President Joe Biden in first phone call - with hopes of 'deepening longstanding alliance' with US | Politics News | Sky News
Some commentators responding to the 'fake' claims have argued that the cable would not be visible in the mirror from the camera's point of view, but I do not think this is correct. At least part of the cable ought to be in shot. I am not a photographic expert, but I think the most likely explanation is simply that the camera is focussed on the direct scene, while the virtual image 'behind' the mirror is further away and somewhat out of focus. It is noticeably blurred by comparison with the direct image.
Incidentally, some people have also claimed that the telephone handset is simultaneously in Johnson's hand and on its desk stand, which is impossible. But it is fairly clear that there is at least one other telephone stand on the desk.
Various people on social media, including a normally sane, if over-excitable, TV commentator called Robert Peston, have noticed that in the photographs the spiral cord of the telephone is visible, but the reflected image in a nearby mirror does not show the cord. For some people, this is enough to launch a theory that the photographs are faked or manipulated in some way. Either the telephone cord has been photoshopped out of the reflected image (why?) or into the direct image (again, why?) Or perhaps the entire event is faked, or took place somewhere else and the scene in Johnson's office was staged later for public effect. As usual, no plausible motive is suggested for the manipulation. The photographs were all taken by the official photographer at 10 Downing Street, and no outside journalists were apparently present. so there is no independent check on the veracity of the image, but for the same reason there would be no need to photoshop the image: the official photographer could simply photograph the staged event in the office. I have not seen, and cannot imagine, any explanation of why the telephone cable should be either inserted into or removed from the photograph, or why anyone would take the trouble of doing so and not think to do it in both the direct and reflected images.
Several relevant photographs, taken from various angles, are included in this news article:
Boris Johnson speaks to President Joe Biden in first phone call - with hopes of 'deepening longstanding alliance' with US | Politics News | Sky News
Some commentators responding to the 'fake' claims have argued that the cable would not be visible in the mirror from the camera's point of view, but I do not think this is correct. At least part of the cable ought to be in shot. I am not a photographic expert, but I think the most likely explanation is simply that the camera is focussed on the direct scene, while the virtual image 'behind' the mirror is further away and somewhat out of focus. It is noticeably blurred by comparison with the direct image.
Incidentally, some people have also claimed that the telephone handset is simultaneously in Johnson's hand and on its desk stand, which is impossible. But it is fairly clear that there is at least one other telephone stand on the desk.
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