Reuters denies 'staged' news pictures allegations

A photography, video and visual journalism blog in The New York Times on Thursday quoted Jim Gaines (photo), who leads Reuters global pictures organisation, saying it would not use combatants but did rely on activists for pictures. “We use activists in Syria partly because they have access and partly because you have to be among friends to be safe,” he said. 

The newspaper also said freelance photographers who worked for the agency in Syria sometimes staged pictures.

Reuters global head of communications Barb Burg told The Baron: “Yesterday, The New York Times Lens blog raised questions about Reuters use of photo freelancers in Syria. Reuters has made it clear to The Times during their three months of reporting that their allegations were false, and we refuted in detail any specific examples of alleged wrongdoing that they provided us. Except for anonymous allegations backed by no specific examples, the story provides no evidence that Reuters photographers have staged photos in Syria or anywhere else. We looked into the matter carefully and found no such instances. Staging photos is a firing offense, and Reuters would take appropriate action if we became aware of any instances of staging.”

The New York Times allegations were part of an examination of events surrounding the death of Molhem Barakat, an 18-year-old Syrian who had worked in rebel-held territory and was killed in Aleppo in December.

It said: “Interviews with numerous Syrian photographers, most requesting anonymity because they have worked as freelancers for Reuters, said many of the freelancers are activists - in one case a spokesman - who supported the rebels. Three of them also said that the freelancers had provided Reuters with images that were staged or improperly credited, sometimes under pseudonyms.”

It added that three photographers who worked for Reuters in Aleppo claimed that at times when a photograph didn’t turn out as hoped, some of the Reuters freelancers staged photographs. “One of them directly admitted to staging photos.” ■