Vendicar Decarian
2004-02-16 15:18:23 UTC
1971 Photo of Kerry Doctored
By Michael Rothfeld
Staff Writer
As a 20-year-old photographer documenting the country's struggle over the
Vietnam War, Ken Light snapped the picture of John Kerry at a peace rally in
Mineola. It captured the future senator alone at a podium, squinting into
the sun.
Light did not photograph Jane Fonda on that warm June Sunday in 1971. The
actress, who is reviled by many Vietnam veterans for her vocal stance
against the war, did not even attend.
But when opponents of the Democratic presidential hopeful began e-mailing
Light's picture to one another four days ago, it depicted Fonda standing by
Kerry's side. The photo had been doctored.
"I'm horrified," said Light, 52, who grew up in East Meadow and now heads
the graduate photojournalism program at the University of California at
Berkeley. "I think this kind of alteration is probably one of the scariest
forms of trickery, particularly when it's done against a political
candidate."
Dag Vega, a spokesman for Kerry's campaign, said, "The smear tactics have
started already."
Kerry, who co-founded Vietnam Veterans Against the War, spoke at the
Register for Peace Rally on June 13, 1971, when thousands gathered for "the
largest anti-war demonstration ever held on Long Island," according to a
story in Newsday the next day. Light recalled Long Islanders of all ages
sprawled across the State Supreme Court mall in Mineola, with American flags
and peace symbols. Former members of Congress who attended included Bella
Abzug, Allard Lowenstein and Lester Wolff. Folk singer Peter Yarrow
entertained, and the rally ended with a burst of thunder and lightning.
Light, a student in Ohio at the time, took the picture of Kerry but never
published it, and it sat in his files until two weeks ago when he shipped it
to Corbis, his Seattle-based agent, which placed it in its online archives.
That is apparently where someone found it, and attempted to capitalize on
the attention garnered by an authentic photo of Kerry and Fonda at a
Vietnam-era rally -- seated some distance apart -- posted early this month
on a Web site called www.vietnamveteransagainstjohnkerry.com. The Web site's
creator, Ted Sampley, a Vietnam veteran from North Carolina, said he
received the doctored photo by e-mail on Wednesday from a woman in Richmond,
Va.
"Thought you might want to include this pic on your site," said the note
from Loree Siemek, with an attachment called "HanoiJohn.jpg," a takeoff on
"Hanoi Jane," the derisive nickname given to Fonda by her critics during the
Vietnam era. It is made to look like a newspaper clipping, headlined "Fonda
Speaks to Vietnam Veterans at Anti- War Rally," with an Associated Press
photo credit. Sampley said he was immediately skeptical, and e-mailed it to
some friends who concluded it was faked. He did not post it.
"I looked at it and it didn't feel right," Sampley said in an interview. "It
just looked too good."
Siemek, 34, reached by phone, said she found the picture on a conservative
Internet message board and had no idea it was phony.
"This thing has spiraled out of control," Siemek said. "If I had any thought
that photo was not real, I would never have forwarded it to the veterans'
group."
--
"We must create a <economic> crisis in order to ensure that there is no
alternative to a smaller government." - Bush - Imprimus Magazine 1995.
"We seek to remove resources from the control of the state, thereby starving
it." - International Society for Individual Liberty - NeoCon Libertarian.
"Throughout his term, Bush has implied tax cuts would starve the government,
paying for themselves by causing budget deficits that, in turn, would place
heavy pressure on Congress to lower spending." - Jeff Lemieux - Senior
Economist - Progressive Policy Institute.
"They have an agenda which is to starve the government of revenue. But in
order to get it through, they keep on having to pretend that the tax cuts
are affordable, and so they've been suppressing the likely cost of
everything, including the war on terror." - Paul Krugman - Economist.
By Michael Rothfeld
Staff Writer
As a 20-year-old photographer documenting the country's struggle over the
Vietnam War, Ken Light snapped the picture of John Kerry at a peace rally in
Mineola. It captured the future senator alone at a podium, squinting into
the sun.
Light did not photograph Jane Fonda on that warm June Sunday in 1971. The
actress, who is reviled by many Vietnam veterans for her vocal stance
against the war, did not even attend.
But when opponents of the Democratic presidential hopeful began e-mailing
Light's picture to one another four days ago, it depicted Fonda standing by
Kerry's side. The photo had been doctored.
"I'm horrified," said Light, 52, who grew up in East Meadow and now heads
the graduate photojournalism program at the University of California at
Berkeley. "I think this kind of alteration is probably one of the scariest
forms of trickery, particularly when it's done against a political
candidate."
Dag Vega, a spokesman for Kerry's campaign, said, "The smear tactics have
started already."
Kerry, who co-founded Vietnam Veterans Against the War, spoke at the
Register for Peace Rally on June 13, 1971, when thousands gathered for "the
largest anti-war demonstration ever held on Long Island," according to a
story in Newsday the next day. Light recalled Long Islanders of all ages
sprawled across the State Supreme Court mall in Mineola, with American flags
and peace symbols. Former members of Congress who attended included Bella
Abzug, Allard Lowenstein and Lester Wolff. Folk singer Peter Yarrow
entertained, and the rally ended with a burst of thunder and lightning.
Light, a student in Ohio at the time, took the picture of Kerry but never
published it, and it sat in his files until two weeks ago when he shipped it
to Corbis, his Seattle-based agent, which placed it in its online archives.
That is apparently where someone found it, and attempted to capitalize on
the attention garnered by an authentic photo of Kerry and Fonda at a
Vietnam-era rally -- seated some distance apart -- posted early this month
on a Web site called www.vietnamveteransagainstjohnkerry.com. The Web site's
creator, Ted Sampley, a Vietnam veteran from North Carolina, said he
received the doctored photo by e-mail on Wednesday from a woman in Richmond,
Va.
"Thought you might want to include this pic on your site," said the note
from Loree Siemek, with an attachment called "HanoiJohn.jpg," a takeoff on
"Hanoi Jane," the derisive nickname given to Fonda by her critics during the
Vietnam era. It is made to look like a newspaper clipping, headlined "Fonda
Speaks to Vietnam Veterans at Anti- War Rally," with an Associated Press
photo credit. Sampley said he was immediately skeptical, and e-mailed it to
some friends who concluded it was faked. He did not post it.
"I looked at it and it didn't feel right," Sampley said in an interview. "It
just looked too good."
Siemek, 34, reached by phone, said she found the picture on a conservative
Internet message board and had no idea it was phony.
"This thing has spiraled out of control," Siemek said. "If I had any thought
that photo was not real, I would never have forwarded it to the veterans'
group."
--
"We must create a <economic> crisis in order to ensure that there is no
alternative to a smaller government." - Bush - Imprimus Magazine 1995.
"We seek to remove resources from the control of the state, thereby starving
it." - International Society for Individual Liberty - NeoCon Libertarian.
"Throughout his term, Bush has implied tax cuts would starve the government,
paying for themselves by causing budget deficits that, in turn, would place
heavy pressure on Congress to lower spending." - Jeff Lemieux - Senior
Economist - Progressive Policy Institute.
"They have an agenda which is to starve the government of revenue. But in
order to get it through, they keep on having to pretend that the tax cuts
are affordable, and so they've been suppressing the likely cost of
everything, including the war on terror." - Paul Krugman - Economist.