Lebanese freelance photojournalist Adnan Hajj has been dismissed from global news behemoth Reuters after the above image was published, purportedly showing black smoke rising over Beirut after an Israeli air strike. Bloggers with little more than two functioning eyeballs were able to determine that the smoke in the picture was painfully fake, as indicated by the repeating, circular pattern in the billowing clouds. Yesterday Reuters announced that they would no longer use Hajj's pictures, stating, "Reuters has strict standards of accuracy that bar the manipulation of images in ways that mislead the viewer." That means a zero tolerance policy for those photographers who can't properly use Photoshop's blur function.

Reuters Fires Freelance Lebanese Photographer Over Image [Reuters]
Adnan Hajj Isn't Even Trying Anymore [Shape of Days]

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