What You See...

What You See…
In a world where digital manipulation is the order of the day, one has to be careful because what you see is not always what you get. It all started innocently with people editing pictures to suit their liking in order to be appreciated on social sites such as Facebook. These editing procedures hardly required complicated technologies, a few tricks here and there and voila!!!You are what you wanted…virtually.
Digital manipulation has since crept into the media industry. Journalists have been found to employ these techniques to prove a point or even use manipulated content for emphasis. The earliest cases of digital manipulation in the media were evident when a picture of a man was presented in a darker form as compared to what the original copy looked like. This, then, was not a major issue but could have passed for house style.
In an era where people value their reputation, digital manipulation can lead to lawsuits owing to agreed upon media laws and ethics. When one can prove that a content has been manipulated leading to defamation, for example, this can land one into serious trouble. Journalists, therefore, cannot fully enjoy digital manipulation because there is a fine line between a joke and professionalism.
It has been proven that power cannot protect one from application of digital manipulation to make them look good or bad. Former Kenyan president, Mwai Kibaki, has had trending manipulated pictures shared across various social platforms. I received one recently and wondered what the poor guy had done.
All the same, people in such positions can allow new media technologies to make or break them. Kibaki, for example was never really bothered by such pictures and that is how to survive such ‘storms’. Content will continue to be manipulated for laughs and others malice but it is important to note that this may be harmful to the media industry because when will you know what’s real and what’s not? This is a case of credibility in trial.