Left: Released by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office. Right: Distributed by TASS, the Russian state news agency.
One was published globally without question. The other sparked outrage when it won a prize.
Both serve a narrative. Both come from official sources.
But only one is called propaganda.
If we’re serious about image credibility, we must apply the same scrutiny, the same level of criticism, regardless of the origin and what camp we are in. Either we consistently consider the source and question the photojournalistic ethics behind an image, or we accept them at face value. But we can’t turn a blind eye to one and vilify the other.
see also : on the rightfulness of images what are we judging?
