Opinion: In genuine flip-flop, Obama White House ends faked news photo practice

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A quick update on that embarrassing faked photo imbroglio over President Obama’s ‘I-caught-Osama-bin-Laden-and-he’s-dead’ speech two weeks ago.

As Ticket readers recall from this item at the time, the photos viewed by millions around the world of the American president making the dramatic White House announcement late that Sunday night were actually not taken during the speech.

They came from a staged reenactment by Obama for the benefit of news photographers minutes after the live TV coverage had ended.

Although some previous presidents have also facilitated the fake photos at times to maximize publicity of whatever event it was, the Osame bin Laden speech reenactment was particularly dicey because this Democratic administration had not and will not release photos of the SEALs raid event or Osama bin Laden’s body.

So, some admitted fakes on the controversial death announcement in a conspiratorial world suggested there might be other fakery involved.

Late last week a White House spokesman said it was ending the little-known practice. ‘We have concluded that this arrangement is a bad idea,’ said Josh Earnest.

For the record, Earnest only made the statement one time.

-- Andrew Malcolm

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