Real Atrocities and Faked Photos

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The photos of Iraqi prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib are bad enough, considering that possibly 25 prisoners have died while in American custody. However, some faked photos are also circulating, including pictures of an alleged rape by soldiers that were actually taken from a porno site. Independent journalist Chris Albritton debunks the fakes and criticizes a cavalier attitude toward the truth that "seems to have taken hold in anti-war journalism as well. I have no doubt there are horrible things going on, and that U.S. soldiers are doing some of them," he writes. "But I'm unwilling to report on them unless I can get some confirmation. ... Everyone involved in this mess, including Arab journalists, needs to write as accurately as possible because 'a lie gets halfway around the world before the truth ever gets its boots on.' That's what's happened with the alleged rape photos and people will die because of them. ... [Websites] printing them when they admit they are not confirmed should be ashamed of themselves."