Photo Manipulation

I do believe that the U.S. should have similar laws to France concerning photo manipulation. I know that much of this unit has been focused around beauty and how photos of models can create stereotypes about body image. But I believe these laws should encompass a much larger breadth of content. Just this week, Fox News removed multiple photos from its website depicting the Capital Hill Autonomous Zone protest area in Seattle, Washington after it was revealed that these photos had been digitally altered. The danger here is that a "news" network is altering images to fit a narrative they are delivering to their particular audience to sway opinion of a cause. While standards of journalism require photo illustrations to be clearly marked, there is no law that states this is required and no penalty for "news" networks that violate these ethics. Ideally, we should see journalistic objectivity with faith in facts rather than values. Going back to the topic at hand I do believe that photos that have been altered should be labeled, but I believe that the issue should be much larger than only addressing modeling photos.

As for the Getty Images policy, I agree with it. I think altered pictures of models have helped create impossible body images for all of us to try and strive for or live up to. Magazines have long told us what the ideal body should be and always have quick methods to shed pounds or gain muscle. What they rarely include is the time, energy, and often the teams of support personnel it takes to achieve those results. I could look like one of the actors from 300 if I had several hours every day to work out, top professional trainers paid for from a movie studio, and personal chefs keeping track of my calories and metrics. Also, even those images weren't real as Zack Snyder digitally airbrushed the actor's abs in post-production. So again, yes I do agree with the Getty Images policy.