Conservative groups and media observers are alleging that the New York Times has tampered with photographs depicting a number of noteworthy events over the past six years to give a false impression of the impact President Obama has had during his presidency.
The allegations come hot on the heels of claims that the New York Times photoshopped President George W. Bush out of a front page picture of the march to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery March.
Investigations have shown that the Times published doctored images of a number of important events and photoshopped in images of President Obama to suggest that he played a forceful role in issues where his leadership has been questioned, as well as in events with which he had not been previously associated.
The scandal dates back to at even before Obama was elected president. According to the Times, then state senator Obama took a leading role in healing the nation’s wounds after 9/11.
In a related story, the Times also claimed that Obama was present on the raid to kill Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan in 2011.
President Obama has been widely criticized for snubbing the Paris march against terrorism in January, but in fact he was there, right at the front of the march, according to the Times.
While many analysts have questioned an absence of U.S. leadership on the Ukraine issue, commentators hailed French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel for taking a leading role in peace negotiations last month with Vladimir Putin. But the Times argues that it was in fact Obama who dominated the meeting.
And despite widespread criticism that the president snubbed Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to Congress last week in which he addresses the issue of Iran’s nuclear ambitions, the Times suggests that the president was in fact present, though in covert guise.
