How can CBS News explain this photoshopped picture? What possible explanation could they have?
Accompanying their election coverage on their website, CBS published this photoshopped picture of a half black/half white President Obama with Republicans and Democrats on either side of him as if to say he is split between the two.
Needless to say Obama’s white side is on the side of the GOP’s John Boehner and Eric Cantor. His black half is on the side of Harry Reid and Charles Schumer. Are they saying that Obama will have to act white with Republicans?
How could anyone think that changing the President’s skin tone like this would be a good idea? This has got to be either one of the most racially insensitive and just plain ol’ stupid photoshops a major news organization has done since Time Magazine blackened OJ Simpson’s face. The idiocy of this is only heightened by the fact that Obama’s heritage is mixed.
Who knows who did the actual photoshopping but the pic can be found at CBS News website.
(CMR HT to frequent reader Paul Schneible for bringing this to our attention.)
November 7, 2010 at 12:31 pm
As a former graphical designer I can say too many are reading into the picture. This is a famous/common effect used to denote a split in the picture. The tone separation is used to denote a split in the paper down the middle, its not meant to make a person whiter or blacker.
In fact, the person (obama) is equally black in both halves… Its just one half is pressed down and the other is up. Its pseudo-3d kind of an effect, nothing to do with race.
Notice everything is tone-changed on one side, not just obama. Look at the capitol building in the background etc… Its just a cheap graphical effect meant to fake a "split/ripped paper"… Too many people reading too much into it.