The Dangerous Rise Of The Smartass Image Manipulator.
This morning The New York Times almost ran with the headline “PUTIN NUKES PARIS” after having received the above image “from a reliable source” (minus the headline graphics). The NYT were ready to roll with it until someone checked an internet source. It turned out that several so-called “Meme Lords” had posted the image along with laughing emojis, which naturally raised their suspicions. Just to be doubly sure, they called the CIA and GCHQ to see whether they had sanctioned it. (They are several chess moves ahead of the rest of us.) The anonymous source in Langley was furious at the possibility of such a meme being published without their say-so.
Joseph S. Kahn Executive Director of the New York Times is “furious” at the near miss that the hoax represented.
“This goes to show we need to have closer cooperation with Langley and London just so we all have our ducks in a row.” says NYT Executive Director Joseph S. Kahn. “The image was so cleverly done- no-one here could possibly have figured it out. We even checked with our Paris correspondent at the time who unfortunately was not available. Thankfully one of the whizz kids here in the office who’s good at this stuff was able to find the image on a website called knowyourmeme.com where they have excellent bias-free meme analysis. Thankfully we dodged a bullet this time, but it just goes to show you can never be too careful.”
