[mouse over to see the original image]

Publicity chief for the Democratic Action Party in Malaysia, Jeffrey Wong Su En, thought it was a good idea to send out a press release (along with the above photo) stating he had been Knighted. It seems titles are all the rage in Malaysia these days, and short of “Duke” or “Lord” what better title could one have?

Well, Buckingham Palace begged to differ with Wong and it caused the British High Commission spokesperson in Kuala Lumpur to say, “We can confirm that we have no record of any honour having been conferred at any time by the British Government on Jeffery Wong Su En.”

OK, so where did he get the photo? From here – he just Shopped himself over Ross Brawn.

Wong still protests that he was, in fact, knighted despite the overwhelming evidence he was not. He is (rightfully so) now facing expulsion from his political party.

Related articles…

Malaysian politician faked pictures of knighthood from the Queen [Telegraph.co.uk]

Malaysian politico gets knighted in Photoshop [The Register]

Stir over DAP man’s ‘Sir’ title [Star Online]

Above Left: Cover of The Economist; Right: Original, unedited Reuters photo.

The Economist is under fire by the New York Times for editing a photo for their recent cover. To their credit, The Economist fully admitted to editing the photo and here’s what they had to say about it…

I was editing the paper the week we ran the image of President Obama with the oil rig in the background. Yes, Charlotte Randolph was edited out of the image (Admiral Allen was removed by the crop). We removed her not to make a political point, but because the presence of an unknown woman would have been puzzling to readers.

We often edit the photos we use on our covers, for one of two reasons. Sometimes — as with a cover we ran on March 27 on U.S. health care, with Mr. Obama with a bandage round his head — it’s an obvious joke. Sometimes — as with an image of President Chavez on May 15 on which we darkened the background, or with our “It’s time” cover … endorsing Mr. Obama, from which the background was removed altogether — it is to bring out the central character. We don’t edit photos in order to mislead.

I asked for Ms. Randolph to be removed because I wanted readers to focus on Mr. Obama, not because I wanted to make him look isolated. That wasn’t the point of the story. “The damage beyond the spill” referred to on the cover, and examined in the cover leader, was the damage not to Mr. Obama, but to business in America.

I was going to write up a lengthy post stating my opinion on this, but instead I think I will just go with: “What Stephen Colbert said…”

Above: A spoof of  David Cameron’s campaign billboard from mydavidcameron.com.

I briefly mentioned British politician David Cameron in a previous post about British Politician Caroline Dinenage’s billboard Photoshoppery. It seems Cameron was also accused of airbrushing himself to look younger for his political billboard, and those cheeky Brits have taken to the internet to voice their concerns (and point copious fun) at him. MyDavidCameron.com took Cameron’s original billboard and ran with (digital scissors all over) it.

Gotta love those Brits!

Above: British Politician Caroline Dinenage had her teeth whitened, wrinkles airbrushed and face widened for a recent billboard. On the left is a previously released version of her publicity photo, and on the right is the Shopped version that ran on the billboard.

From the Daily Mail…

Following the controversy over apparently airbrushed posters of ‘baby-faced’ party leader David Cameron, the Conservatives last night admitted Miss Dinenage had benefited from digital enhancement – to make her ‘more attractive’.

Unfortunately for the 38-year-old – whose father is ITV newsreader Fred Dinenage – an untouched version of the photograph had already been distributed, showing an attractive mother-of-two with natural laughter lines around her eyes and slightly uneven teeth.

But on the billboard greeting drivers on the A32 leading into the constituency of Gosport, Hampshire, Miss Dinenage has been transformed.

Gone are the laughter lines, her teeth seem whiter and more even, while her face appears to have become more rounded.

The digital makeover was initially denied by Miss Dinenage, who hopes to replace outgoing MP Sir Peter Viggers – notorious for his duck island expenses claim. ‘By virtue of the fact it’s so big it’s slightly pixelated,’ she insisted. ‘It does look different but it’s not airbrushed.’

But her assistant Glenn Duggan admitted the image had been changed without her knowledge, adding: ‘It has been done to make it more visually attractive for a billboard. Of course, she is attractive anyway.’

Experts said last night the airbrushing around the mouth and eyes was ‘obvious’.

[read entire article and see more comparison photos]

Yeah, that is pretty obvious. Does Miss Dinenage even know what something looks like when it is “slightly pixelated”? Because I am betting from her defense she does not. (Sidebar for Christine: Pixelation won’t remove wrinkles and completely change your teeth. Nor will it widen your face.)

You know, I can understand the teeth fixing and the wrinkle removing, but the face widening? Since when does a fatter face = “more visually attractive”?

Man, I gotta move to the UK!

Above: Two of Spy magazine’s infamous “spoof” covers – Hillary Clinton as a dominatrix (from 1993) and George Bush Sr. with “cutout hair” (from 1989).

Spy magazine was a publication known for the manipulated images which often graced the covers, and the satirical wit which always occupied the inside pages. Spy ran monthly from October 1986 to May 1993, and now founder Kurt Andersen has put all 71 covers online for your viewing pleasure. (The only drawback is the small images can’t be enlarged.)

Anderson says of Spy’s manipulated covers…

Realistic digital manipulation of existing pictures was newly possible back  then, but difficult and incredibly expensive — the first primitive Photoshop software didn’t appear until 1990 — and probably the best of our giant-computer-generated covers were Ted Kennedy being splashed with water (November 1987), Jerry Lewis & Dean Martin brawling for “Feuds” (November 1988), the pregnant naked Bruce Willis (July 1991), Hillary Clinton as a dominatrix (January 1993) and Bill Clinton as Pinocchio (May 1993).

[view the gallery of SPY covers]

Oh Spy, how I miss thee…