The article written by Sydney Smith (Smith, 2013) is aimed at discussing the fake photographs posted by a Chinese news agency called Xinhua. This organization published a picture depicting a Chinese politician on the cover of Time Magazine. The main problem is that this person was never featured in this publication.
This image is an edited version of the real Time Magazine cover. Originally, this image showcased Jack Abramoff who is a prominent lobbyist (Smith, 2013). It should be mentioned that Xinhua was responsible to posting other fake photographs (Smith, 2013). On the whole, this incident attracts close attention of many journalists because it gives rise to many questions about the ethical aspects of such practices.
It is possible to identify two important players in this situation. First of all, one should speak about the news agency Xinhua which is supposed to inform the readers about the most current events. Secondly, it is important to speak about the Chinese government which strives to control mass media in order to ensure their strategies do not come under criticism. These are the main actors that should be identified. To a great extent, the activities of Xinhua could be driven by the policies of the government.
Overall, one can say that that Xinhua is committed to the goals that the Chinese government pursues. This news agency strives to highlight that the state really makes significant achievements. The fake photograph was aimed at showing that Chinese policy-makers were recognized by foreign media.
To some degree, this case indicates that in some cases, this organization can adopt unscrupulous methods in order to make their arguments more convincing. This is one of the main aspects that can be identified since it is vital for understanding the motives which could have influenced the decisions of Chinese journalists.
In this case, the main value of Xinhua is the devotion to ideology developed by the communist government of China. One cannot argue that this organization attaches importance to such things as impartiality, integrity, or willingness to present an accurate assessment of the main events. This is one of the main issues should be taken into consideration.
One can argue that this action can hardly be called ethical because people, who created this photograph, deliberately misinformed its audience. This incident cannot be regarded as a mere factual or logical error that can be attributed to a mere coincidence or lack of attention.
In this case, one can speak about deliberate falsification which is not permissible for the representatives of mass media. This is one of the details that should be considered. This principle is derived from the ethical standards set for journalists. According to them, a journalist should be unbiased in his/her presentation of the main facts (Kittross, 2011, p. 254). Furthermore, this professional should not twist facts so that they could fit his/her ideology or values. This is one of the main pitfalls that should be avoided.
This analysis suggests that mass media can easily misrepresent facts or ideas. Such situations are widespread in those countries in which journalists are strongly dependent on the state. Very often, they present a falsified version of the events. The case discussed in this paper exemplifies some of the techniques that journalists can adopt in effort to mislead the audience.
Reference List
Kittross, J. (2011). Controversies in Media Ethics. New York: Routledge.
Smith, S. (2013). Oops, Chinese News Media Publish Fake Photo of Bogus Time Magazine Cover. Web.