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As state manipulators of the media go, few can compare to North Korea, which found it necessary to doctor an official photograph of Kim Jong-il's funeral procession.
Just as governments are finding it easier to use technology to manipulate images, so too is the public finding it easier to spot such digital trickery. Here are six noteworthy attempts by governments to shape media coverage through image manipulation.
The doctored photo that Iran issued of a missile test launch: notice the similarity between the middle two rockets, as well as the resemblance between the central and right-most dust clouds. (AFP)
2. Iran's phantom fourth missile
North Korea isn't the only member of the "Axis of Evil" to touch up its photos. In 2008, Agence France-Presse released a photo, issued by Iran, of a salvo of four missiles being test-launched by the Revolutionary Guard. But sharp-eyed newshounds noticed that two of the rockets and their exhaust trails looked suspiciously similar. Upon further inspection – and when another photo of the same event came to light – it became clear that Iran had added an extra rocket and exhaust to cover up an apparently failed launch. AFP retracted the photo.
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