Reuters news agency has cut its ties with Adnan Hajj, a Beirut-based freelance photographer, after it was discovered he had manipulated two photographs from the fighting in Lebanon. It also removed all 920 pictures by the photographer from its database.The agency said that as a result of the discovery it has put in place tighter editing procedures for images from the Middle East, requiring that all such photos be reviewed by the top photo editors at Reuters' global photo desk.
One photograph showed the aftermath of an Israeli airstrike on suburban Beirut. It had been manipulated using Photoshop software to show more and darker smoke rising from buildings. A second photograph, showing an Israeli jet fighter over southern Lebanon and dated Aug. 2, had also been changed. In that photo, Hajj changed the image to show three flares being dropped by the plane, instead of just one
Apparently he claimed he was removing dust and made mistakes due to bad lighting
