"Photoshop Friday" isn't just a fun event held on certain online forums—it's also an attempt to try and quell the concerns of Chinese citizens over environmental issues. An elaborate scheme involving a doctored photograph of antelope has backfired on the state-controlled media, backed by the Chinese government, forcing them to issue a rare public apology over the incident.

It all started in 2006 when China neared completion of its massive, high-altitude, $4 billion Qinghai-Xizang railway that connects Tibet with "China proper." Environmentalists had protested loudly against the railway as its launch drew closer because it threatened the native habitat of an endangered antelope in China called the chiru. Coincidentally, it was about that time when a photograph appeared in Chinese newspapers by Liu Weiquing, a photographer with the Xinhua news agency (which so happens to be controlled by the Chinese government).

This photograph, pictured below, showed the Qinghai-Xizang rail system with a pack of chiru roaming underneath and ran alongside a story entitled "Qinghai-Tibet railway opens green passage for wildlife." It was then given an award for "photo of the year" by China's state-run TV network CCTV, wherein Liu was interviewed about his experiences waiting for the antelope to pass. "I wanted to capture the harmony among the Tibetan antelope, the train, men and nature," he said, according to the Wall Street Journal (subscription).



Photo Photoshop Credit: Liu Weiquing

But the Chinese people weren't quite as naive as the government initially believed—especially not those pesky environmentalists who had been studying the antelope for some time and knew their every quirk. Some noticed that a few of the antelope appeared pregnant, which was unusual for the time of year the photo was allegedly snapped. They were also running in an unusual pattern considering that they were near a very loud train.

Then one blogger took a risk by carefully examining a blown-up version of the photo and posting his questions about its authenticity online (one reason China doesn't like bloggers). His observations set off a firestorm of analysis of the photo among photography enthusiasts before an independent news organization finally confronted Liu about the photo's inconsistencies. The pressure of being caught was apparently too much for Liu—he resigned from his job and posted to his blog that he had "no reason to continue" his career. "I am not qualified for the job," he wrote.

That brings us to last week, when CCTV revoked Liu's award and several state-controlled news organizations issued a public apology over the whole thing. Some questioned whether the Photoshop was a result of Liu's desire to succeed in the industry or whether he was asked to do it on behalf of the government, but the split between China's "official" news agencies and independents seems to tell the story.

The incident has also sparked public discussion of journalistic standards in China, or lack thereof, as the case may be. As long as the government maintains tight control over the newspapers and TV networks in the country, though, there will always be a question as to whether those who work at those agencies are exercising the same ethics as others. One thing is for sure: it's going to be difficult to find a photographer in China willing to try and pass off a Photoshop as the real deal for quite some time.

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