Graphic Evidence Of The Racism Of Fox News: Racial Photoshopping

News reports are suggesting that later today the authorities in Florida will announce charges against Trayvon Martin’s shooter, George Zimmerman. Coverage of this story was handled by Fox News in a manner that is revealing and offensive – and wholly unique to Fox News:

Fox News - Trayvon Martin - George Zimmerman

This is a journalistic lynching. And note, this is not Fox Nation. It is the mothership, Fox News. The editors at this alleged “news” network are demonstrating their overt hostility to both African-Americans and journalistic ethics. If this picture doesn’t finally establish the overarching prejudice of Fox, it’s hard to know what will. Their bias is so clearly being exercised with a zealotry that the Klan would shrink from. How do they get away with this?

[Update] Fox News changed their graphic.

Fox News - Trayvon

This is a more impartial photo that does not disparage the victim (although it still is not as overtly cheerful as Zimmerman’s pic). You think they got a few complaints about the previous photo? They must have had a reason for changing it.


[Addendum] A couple of commenters have asserted (without proof) that the lighter picture of Trayvon was the one that was Photoshopped. Let’s say, for argument’s sake, that they are right and that the picture Fox used was not altered (at least by Fox). That does not change the fact that Fox made an editorial decision to use that picture. They had numerous pictures from which to choose of both Trayvon and Zimmerman, and they chose the most negative picture of Trayvon which they paired with the most positive picture of Zimmerman. That was not an accident. It was the result of deliberate editorial judgment. And it tells us everything we need to know about Fox’s editors.

For more on the subject of media and race, check out the excellent book by Democracy Now’s Juan Gonzalez: News for All the People: The Epic Story of Race and the American Media.

There has also been some discussion as to whether making Trayvon look darker was inherently racist. Two points: 1) Making anyone look darker has the effect of making them look more sinister. And making the subject of a photo look more sinister, regardless of race, is blatant editorial bias. 2) Darker skinned African-Americans are not viewed more negatively by fair-minded people who are free of prejudice, but they are viewed more negatively by people predisposed to discriminate on the basis of race – i.e. Fox News viewers. Fox is playing to their audience and they know who they are. Studies show that the African-American segment of viewers of Fox News in primetime is only 1.38%. That compares to 19.3% for MSNBC, and 20.7% for CNN, numbers that are much closer to the 14% of African-Americans in the population at large. Or, as the Simpsons put it…

Fox News - Simpsons

Finally, The question of whether or not George Zimmerman is racist, while important, is secondary here. The real problem is the racism exhibited by the local law enforcement authorities who simply accepted Zimmerman’s claims of self-defense without making an arrest and conducting a proper investigation. Exacerbating that is the overt racism of the right-wing press and their followers. The primary focus going forward should, of course, be the pursuit of justice and the suffering of the victims family. After that the focus should fall on the police and the media as this affair winds its way through the courts. But we should be grateful that concerned citizens spoke out and hit the streets to protest this injustice or there would be no court case at all.

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75 thoughts on “Graphic Evidence Of The Racism Of Fox News: Racial Photoshopping

  1. You mean as opposed to what the other networks are doing by exclusively running his younger, more “innocent-looking” photo rather than the more recent, thuggish-looking photos?

    • How do you define “thuggish” other than dark skin color and a gray hoodie?

      And why in 2012 is a darker skinned black person more “sinister” than a light skinned black person? That is so totally fucked up.

      • “Thuggish” as in tatoos and gang signs. The stuff that shows up in contemporary photos of Martin. Why are those photos being so assiduously hidden in favor of this older photo? I don’t suppose there could be an agenda on their part opposite that one of which you accuse FOX. Hmmmm.

        • Tattoos are thuggish? My Lutheran pastor’s wife has a tattoo. My son has Iron Maiden’s “Killers” album art on his shoulder, and he’s a skinny college kid. I have three, and I have a finance degree and white collar job. Gang signs? Devil horns that are now thrown up on Dancing with the Stars? “Two in the pink, one in the stink” that is thrown out by people who don’t even know its vulgar meaning? Oh, that’s right. A *black* kid with tattoos and finger signs. Oh, you’re right. Thuggish.

          • Depends on the tatoo.

            But you knew that, didn’t you?

            • What tattoo did Trayvon Martin have that was thuggish? Have you seen the “Killers” album art? It’s a grotesque Eddie with an arm reaching up from a grave tearing at his clothes as he wields a hatchet, while wearing an evil grin. But that’s not thuggish.

              The truth is, the tattoo shown in the photos of Trayvon are hard to see. The “gang sign” is him flipping the bird, something I see in traffic every week. You see “thug” because of a gold grill in his teeth and a wife beater shirt? How many businessmen wear the same tee, call it an undershirt, and put it under a dress shirt?

            • he should have kept that hoodie on and not taken it off to show off his thug tattoos to try to intimidate that poor guy that was just doing his best to protect his community from the influx of obvious criminal types. Probably flashed him a few gang signs to boot… Okay, snarky sarcasm over… those pics of trevon trying to look cool on his cell phone pics is any kid anywhere inthe world trying to look hip for the chicks. The only people that don’t get that are either in denial or grew up with Santorum Stepford parents…

            • Speaking of “wife beaters”, George Zimmerman was arrested in 2005 for domestic abuse, and when the police showed up to arrest him, he violently assaulted the officer.

              George Zimmerman has a clear, documented history of violence and criminal activity. Trayvon Martin doesnt.

            • Hold up! The picture of Trayvon Martin you seem to be referring to (gang signs, etc.) was not even a picture of Martin. Let’s be honest here: had George Zimmerman been a black man, and Trayvon Martin, a white teenager – even with the hoodie and the pictures and the tattoos – Zimmerman would have been arrested on the spot, and he’s still be in jail, if someone hadn’t simply lynched or shot him. Be real. Be honest. If you’re (clearly) racist, just own up to it. There are organizations who would welcome you with open arms!

        • You mean those photos that were NOT Trayvon Martin? Are those the Photos you are writing about? And the other tats he did have, where are they “gang related”? I am 60 years old and I have a couple tats. I have never been in a gang. Neo-Nazis have racist tats. Are they considered “gang” related? They should be and they are also racist related.

    • This IS what you are calling the “younger, more innocent-looking” photo. Fox altered it.

      If this was just a question of editorial discretion as to which photo to use, it would be one thing. However, Fox decided to use this photo, but altered it to change the tone.

      • I know what photo it is, genius. My point is, why is the MSM using that photo at all when there are more recent ones? I don’t suppose they’d be using a 3-4 year old photo just to make Martin look younger and more innocent, now would they? Do you know of any case like this where they used old photos when new ones were available?

        BTW, the one you are refering to as the “original” photo is the one that looks altered. Perhaps not altered from an original but taken under slightly soft-focus or filtered to give a softer, more innocent look, much like the techniques used with fashion models.

        • You not getting the point. Whether or not you approve of the selection, Fox chose to use a specific photo. Maybe you think they should have chosen a different photo, but they chose this one. Then they altered it to affect a negative impression. That’s the problem.

          This isn’t a discussion about all the different photos that Fox and other media have available. This is about a specific photo and how Fox deliberately distorted it.

          And now Fox has changed their photo of Trayvon (see update above). Why do you suppose they did that? It’s a tacit admission of wrongdoing. You notice that they didn’t change their photo of Zimmerman.

          • It is part of the discussion because I’m making the hypocrisy of it all part of the discussion. No one is bothering to question the agenda of those who insist on publicizing out of date photographs that make Martin appear to be a harmless waif juxtaposed against a bully-ish appearing Zimmerman. FOX may well have done something wrong. I’m not saying they didn’t, necessarily. But no one calls out the other networks for what could well be dishonesty on their part. It’s about the hypocrisy and selective outrage. That may make you uncomfortable but it’s just as valid a question.

            • How is publishing an unaltered photo “dishonest”?

              Every photo the “left” showed of Trayvon Martin was an accurate, unaltered photo of Trayvon Martin. Every photo they showed of George Zimmerman was an accurate, unaltered photo of George Zimmerman. The RIGHT, however, is clearly altering and darkening photos, and previously put out a bunch of photos of a person who WASNT EVEN TRAYVON MARTIN, and said it was him.

              The simple fact is, if Trayvon Martin LOOKS innocent, its because he WAS innocent. He was only 17 years old when he died, and had never been convicted or even charged with any crime. Never spent a day in court. Innocent until proven guilty right? Trayvon Martin was innocent. And Zimmerman executed him.

        • Most people are sooooo easily duped.

          This is nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt to distract people’s attention from NBC news deliberately falsifying the 9-11 recording. It’s as sad and pathetic as the Micheal Vick apologists trying to equate dog fighting with horse racing.

          • Jack, NBC acknowledged the edited soundbite, launched an internal investigation, publicly apologized and fired the broadcast’s editor. I didn’t hear that on Fox News, so I must have heard it on the “liberal, lamestream” media. It wasn’t covered up or hidden. When Fox aired highly edited Breitbart video, who got fired?

            • The author of this hit piece is describing the use of this photograph as, and I quote:

              “Their bias is so clearly being exercised with a zealotry that the Klan would shrink from. How do they get away with this?”

              Really???

              Did the author express any such outrage toward NBC? Did you? This is over-the-top ridiculous. It’s MANUFACTURED outrage and anyone with half a brain knows it.

        • As a matter of fact, Casey Anthony is a good example of using the same photo over and over again, until the trial started! Sweet and innocent young thing: NOT! Her with the baby when we knew her parents took care of Calee all the time. But the MSM showed us a constant diet of Casey playing with Calee. This continued through and after the trial. Did that have to do with racism? NO, it didn’t. By the same token, MSM has only shown George Zimmerman as a fat, out of shape guy from 5 years ago. Now he is much more in shape, with a shaven head. Why aren’t they showing Trayvon at his Prom if they are so partial? That is what he really looked like! But now he is dead and can not speak out for himself…

        • I assume from your racist attitude, you believe his skin color and his hoodie and his tattoos mean he DESERVED TO DIE LIKE THAT. Yep. You should (if you haven’t already) join KKK.

    • Dandi, the most “recent” photo of Trayvon Martin is the one the crime scene investigators took of his corpse laying face down on the ground where George Zimmerman shot him, soaking in a pool of his own blood.

      Are you saying THATS the picture the media should have used?

    • The “thuggish” photos are five years old. Good detective work Batman.

    • Yeah, how dare those other networks try to portray the murder victim as “innocent”!?

  2. A photo that is splotchy and is cropped a little closer is supposed to prove racism?? Huh??

    I’m surprised you’re not peering into these photos searching for a hidden grassy knoll.

    • The altered photo isn’t what proves racism. It’s a symptom and a realization by others of it. The racism part is the justification that people give an armed adult for killing an unarmed 17yr old kid. There’s nothing that makes him “thuggish” in the racists eyes except the color of his skin.

  3. Oh, and by the way, take a look at this photograph from the Miami Herald, hardly a right-wing rag, from back on 3/22/12. The same photograph used by pro-Martin protesters in NYC the day before. Are you saying they altered the “original” photo, too?

    http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/03/22/2708960/trayvon-martin-a-typical-teen.html

    Looks to me, as I pointed out above, that the “original” photo that’s been circulating the last couple of weeks is the altered one. What say you?

    • It is still more likely that the original is the one I posted above. The Miami Herald published a photo of a sign that had an enlarged (i.e. altered) picture of Trayvon. So the picture from the Herald with a picture of a sign with a picture of Trayvon is many generations from the original. And even at that, the picture at Fox still seems even more altered.

      Why do you suppose Fox changed the picture after just a couple of hours?

      • Oh horsecrap. “More likely” how? And enlargement is now “altering”? The pics from FOX and the Herald are identical. You libs have been busted once again. Man up and for once assume a little responsibility for being wrong instead of doubling down on your BS. And IF Fox changed it to the more “popular” version it was probably the same reason there can’t be an honest discussion of race in this country – they didn’t want to be subjected to the kneejerk howls of “RACISM!” that emanate from the Left in every single one of these situations. This article being a case in point.

        • You clearly don’t understand the effect of blowing up a low-resolution photo and then making copies of copies of it. And you also can’t see the difference between the Herald photo and the one Fox used.

          If you think that the reason Fox changed the photo was to avoid “howls of racism” then you’re making my point. The picture they used was racist and people perceived it that way.

          Finally, just because the Herald published a similar photo doesn’t change anything about this. And just because you have a different opinion than I do doesn’t mean you’re right and I’m busted. We obviously are not going to agree on this, but I think Fox’s update proves my point.

        • Oh, and she plays her hand as a biased conservative who hates liberals. Thanks for playing, but your opinion can no longer be taken at face value. Good day.

  4. Nice try, idiots! But it’s the LIGHTENED photo that is ‘shopped by the liberal media, to make him look less like the menacing thug he was. Fox is using the original photo – one that has even been used on signs in pro-Trayvon demonstrations. It’s hilarious how off base you are.

    • Before you call people idiots it might help to have some evidence for your wild allegations. Otherwise you just look like, well, an idiot.

      • “Wild allegations”! LMAO

        It takes someone born with a congenital lack of a sense of irony to make that statement given what’s going on here.

        • “they didn’t want to be subjected to the kneejerk howls of “RACISM!” that emanate from the Left in every single one of these situations. This article being a case in point.” Really? You think Fox Spews really gives a rat’s butt who thinks they are racist? That really is a laughable comment! If they cared about such things they wouldn’t have Conservatives on who lie constantly and consistently, i.e Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity and the rest of their crack “reporters”.
          “It takes someone born with a congenital lack of a sense of irony to make that statement given what’s going on here.” Strange you should bring this point up about irony because the true irony here is that you and your ilk are condemning a DEAD, unarmed teenager who will never be able to speak in his own defense in favor of a man who chased him down and shot him to death. That is true irony. Also, you are writing an entire scenario of a persons life from one or two photos of a person, be they photo-shopped or not! That is exactly what the “Right” tends to do to make their arguments fit
          any case. Try looking at the 911 calls instead of trying to find a “thug” and “menacing” person in those pictures. Try to imagine being an unarmed teenager walking home with treats for you brother and someone starts following you and it’s dark and you have NO idea why they would be following you… why anybody would be following you. You’re talking on the cell phone with your 16 year old girlfriend and this older guy comes up and pushes you to the ground (this has been testified to by the girlfriend!). Then the phone goes dead. Two minutes later Trayvon Martin is dead by a gunshot to his chest. What does a picture of him on MSM have anything to do with this murder? Have you ever heard of the words EMPATHY or SYMPATHY? Or pity for the parents of Trayvon. Instead, you fixate on one picture and proclaim the unfairness and prejudice of it! Disgusting to say the least, but what I expect from the “Right” who are great at obfuscating and lying to hide the truth. Take the War on Women as an example, as it is happening now. They are refusing to take credit for it, yet all the while they are passing detrimental bills against women’s healthcare in States across America and are even saying it is Democrats who are waging the war on women!

    • “Less menacing”? How on earth do you know if he was “menacing” at all? He was on his way back from a convenience store with sugary tea and candy. I am not at all convinced Zimmerman is racist, and really it’s beside the point. He was a cop wannabe with a big gun looking for a reason to use it. He was an habitual police-caller. He was told to wait for authorities to arrive and didn’t follow those orders. THAT is the real story. Not of a racist, but of a complete, dumb fucking wannabe vigilante hero.

      • First of all, he wasn’t “told to wait for authorities to arive”. He was informed by the dispatcher that they didn’t need his assistance. That’s a far cry from a lawful police order to desist what he was doing. He had just as much right to drive around his neighborhood as Martin had to walk around in it, if he was not up to something unlawful.

        And what the hell does this “tea and candy” shit have to do with anything? I see that thrown out in any discussion from liberals about this incident as if it has any bearing whatsoever on what Martin may have surreptitiously been up to. Do criminals not eat snack foods? Is that supposed to prove something? Is that what you’re going to hang your hat on? Tea and Skittles? Or is that, too, part of the public image drive to influence public perception in favor of Martin, along with the Poor Sweet Child™ photos that we now know have been doctored to make him look even more innocent, rather than the other way around?

        • Dandi, answer me this: What do you suppose Trayvon Martin did to deserve to be shot? He was, as reported by Zimmerman himself, walking. He was WALKING. Zimmerman saw some sort of suspicious behavior in his WALKING. It was reportedly wet and cool, hence the sweatshirt with hood pulled over his head. But when the dispatcher said, “We don’t need you to do that,” and Zimmerman said, “Ok”, why then did he continue to “do that”, which he was told was unnecessary? Why do conservatives want so fucking badly for this black kid to be guilty of something, anything? Why are the conservative media trying so hard to prove he was a bad kid, up to no good.

          Please tell me, Dandi, what bad behavior was Trayvon Martin up to? NO ONE has explained exactly what he was doing that warranted being followed by a man with a big gun who was told his police work was not necessary.

          Remove race. Remove Skittles. Remove hoodie. What the fuck was he doing that warranted being followed and then shot? Maybe he did fight with Zimmerman. What would YOU do if you were followed by some dude you didn’t know? Maybe Trayvon Martin was using the stand your ground law to protect himself.

          • The point is, we don’t know.I’ve never asserted that Martin “deserved to be shot”. Unlike those on the Left who have a vested interest in making this a racial issue from the get-go, and seeing to it that Zimmerman is tried and convicted in the court of public opinion before he ever does stand trial, I’m perfectly willing to look at all the evidence with a critical eye and wait until all the facts surface to make a judgement. If a court of law finds him guilty, that’s fine. I’ll consider justice having been done.

            To address your points specifically, I don’t think I’ve heard or read a specific accusation of wrongdoing on Martin’s part in the course of walking through the neighborhood. Apparently, there had been some recent burglaries in the area. Zimmerman was, at least ostensibly, a member of the neighborhood watch program. He claimed that Martin was acting suspiciously. He never claimed that the fact that he was black or wearing a hoodie is what made him look suspicious. That is all a construct of race baiters intent on stirring the pot. Zimmerman was perfectly within his rights to follow Martin for a distance in his car and observe. It in no way rose to the level of statutory “stalking”, again as the race baiters have dishonestly tried to paint it. Now you may consider observing someone in that way rude or obnoxious, or even bigoted depending on the circumstances, but it still a legal and nonviolent activity. Yes, Zimmerman had a concealed carry permit and was in fact carrying a gun. So what? So do a lot of other people. Florida alone has issued over 2,000,000 concealed carry permits. Was there some specific reason he was supposed to not be carrying it that night? Again, perfectly legal, evidence of nothing. It appears that Zimmerman exited his vehicle at some point, and again at some point interacted with Martin by asking him what he was doing. Once again, it’s perfectly legal to ask someone a question. You might take it as a personal affront, but it is not grounds for attacking someone with your fists, as many in the pro-Martin camp have asserted, if indeed that is what happened, which we don’t know. If Zimmerman approached him in a threatening manner, brandishing his weapon, raising his hand to him, trying to grab him, verbally threatening him, etc., then Martin would have an excuse to respond with force. One more time, we don’t know. If Martin Attacked Zimmerman simply because he was pissed off over someone following him and asking a question, absent any other kind of real or implied threat, then he was in the wrong, and if at some point in the assault Zimmerman felt himself in danger of serious harm, he was absolutely entitled to use his weapon in self defense, regardless of what his motivation may or may not have been in following and speaking to Martin in the first place. People call the mere fact Zimmerman’s following him “aggression”. It may be at some level, but citizens are expected to react proportionately, and wailing on someone with your fists would not, I believe, be considered by any court of law to be a proportionate response to being followed.

            The only undisputed facts in this case are that Zimmerman folowed Martin, reported him to the police, followed some more, came into contact with Martin, and eventually ended up shooting him. There is absolutely no proof made public thus far of Zimmerman’s motivation or mindset. No proof of whether Martin is as innocent as he is portrayed or not. No proof of what was the proximate cause of the struggle that ended with the shooting. Yet none of that has moderated the Left whatsoever in their headlong rush to fan the flames of racial division in an election year. If you even try to discuss anything about the case outside their narrow narrative, you are branded as a racist. I think most people on the right were willing to look at this case with an objective eye in the beginning, as I still do now. But after weeks of the Al Sharptons and NBPPs and White-Guilt-ridden liberals harping on it like their opinion is the only righteous one, it’s only natural that there’s some backlash.

            • I honestly don’t have much of an issue with anything you said.

              Regardless of the race-baiting, stand your ground laws, etc., the bottom line is that one man had a gun and used it on another, and the man with the gun could have avoided the entire episode if he’d just let the police do police work. Why would one bother to call the police and then not wait for them to arrive?

            • For the record, my problem with this has never been with whether or not Zimmerman was a racist, or even whether his actions were legally excusable. My problem is with the authorities who didn’t make an arrest or conduct an investigation after an unarmed teenager was shot dead in the street. Perhaps due to the absurd “Stand Your Ground” law (better called the License to Kill law), the police simply took Zimmerman at his word that he felt threatened and that was that. Were it not for the public outcry nothing would have been done.

              Yesterday that changed and I am satisfied that the course of justice is finally being pursued. That’s all I ever wanted. This matter is now in the proper forum, where it should have been a month ago. Hopefully all sides will now give the system a chance to work.

              I’ll add that I also had a problem with the media coverage of the incident. It should never have been about racial speculation about Zimmerman. The problem was always the negligence of local law enforcement. If they had done their jobs any relevant questions about Zimmerman would all have been resolved in due course.

            • You are changing your tune now, Dandi. These comments don’t at all reflect your earlier comments.
              The man at the funeral home said there were NO defensive or offensive wounds on Trayvon’s hands. NO knuckles scraped or bruised. NO bruising or scrapes or scratches anywhere to show any type of fight. There was only a gunshot to the chest which appeared to enter from the front and exit to the back. I tend to believe this man as the mortician has to thoroughly clean the bodies they tend to. He’d also have no reason to lie because the coroner in a trial would call him out as a liar if it weren’t true. Thank god there were white Liberals around to see to it that justice was done. Without them the Conservatives would have let George Zimmerman go free with a medal of honor. I am a white-nothing to be guilt ridden about-liberal. What exactly are you, since you awfully fond of calling others names? In your last sentence you completely negate your entire comment, which almost took on a tinge of compassion and understanding. You sound like a politician. If not, you missed your calling.
              I did preface my comment by saying that, “These comments don’t at all reflect your earlier comments.” I hadn’t actually read the whole thing at that time… now I see understand what you doing! We had to wait for the “PUNCH” line!!!
              So, here we have the age old argument: the chicken or the egg! I think you lose because Zimmerman was let go free and that is the reason people marched peacefully in the streets. That’s all we wanted, for him to be arrested and for a jury to decide what the facts are. NOT people like you!! I guess you’re not fond of OccupyWall Street either, but you love the Tea Party who spits in the face of black Congressmen and nothing is done about it? Just opining here, not accusing you, as you are so fond of doing to everybody else that isn’t you. You do have Fox talking points down pat. I give you an A+ for doing your homework in front of the TV glued to Fox Spews! Backlash, backlash, backlash on you from me.

        • “We don’t need you to do that.” That is the quote. Not even close to what you said! GZ taught a class in neighborhood watch and the most important rules stressed is that you NOT carry a gun, do NOT follow, keep your eyes open only and to call the police!!

        • Your implication is that Trayvon Martin deserved to be shot. Why? Because he was a black teenager (who is obviously “blacker” than the “lamestream media” make him out to be), and he was walking in a nice white neighborhood at night, in a hoodie? You ask, “Do criminals not eat snack foods?” as though that’s pertinent to the question. Do criminals not carry loaded guns, and stalk innocent people in the night, even after the police tell him to stop following, and then shoot innocent people, and then call it self defense?
          Whatever logic you are displaying is chop logic – twisted by your hatred of black people. It’s so clear, I can see you scowling and pacing and yelling.
          Fact is, Martin didn’t have a criminal background. ZIMMERMAN had a criminal background.
          There goes your argument out the window.
          Sickening. You are symbolic of the problems with this country. You’d LOVE to take us back to the good old slavery days, or at the very least, the good old 50’s, when black people “knew their place.” Tough poopoo for you!

    • So by your definition:

      17 years old, 50 feet away from his own back yard, carrying iced tea and Skittles, unarmed, never accused of any violence, never guilty of any crime = menacing thug

      28 years old, carrying a loaded weapon, previously arrested for domestic abuse and assaulting a police officer, driving up and down neighborhood streets, stalking, spying on, and eventually shooting other peoples children, after chasing him through other peoples back yards = neighborhood hero?

      Seems to me you just hate innocent children, and like bad guys. Thats probably because youre a bad guy yourself. What other kind of person would condone child murder? You are an evil person.

  5. its a shame that you people are more concerned with the photo, than the fact that an innocent unarmed teenager was shot for presumably no reason.

    but yeah, its was photoshopped… thats the big deal here.

  6. The reason Newscorpse is correct to bring this up is because the media – particularly Fox Bullshit Crap News – has been working hard to inflame the discussion with doctored up photos and phony framing.

    In the week following the shooting incident, public opinion was pretty much the same: whites and blacks both saw Zimmerman as the likely guilty party, by about 80/20.

    Following several weeks of Megyn Crazyeyes Kelly and Limbaugh and Hannity spewing their racist drivel, now polls show that only 30 percent of whites think Zimmerman did something wrong, and around 85 percent of blacks do. A huge swing.

    This shows how a corrupted and evil network – Fox – injures and damages our body politic. Worse: Movement conservatives know this full well and they LIKE it. They like it a lot. They see any suggestion that Fox isn’t the bestest thing ever as a person attack on the memory of Ronald Reagan. They’ll walk through broken glass to defend Fox and carry water for that fat fuck Roger Ailes to protect their golden media child.

  7. The photo shown at the top was of a poster tacked up on a telephone pole somewhere. It was photo-shopped so it could be seen more clearly. The “flipping the bird” photo was not of Trayvon at all.

  8. Funny seeing how Dandi, Scott, and a few others believe an unarmed 17 year old black kid should have died simply for being black, where as a half-mexican should go free for killing a black kid without any form of justice for outwardly killing a child.

    not going to even ask how you people sleep at night knowing you’re supporting a society that finds killing each other for absurd differences is right.

  9. Who gives a damn about a photo??? Zimmerman should have kept his retarded ass in his vehicle!!! Trayvon didn’t have to answer one question Zimmerman asked. It’s sad people want to make Trayvon out to be a viscious thug to justify his murder. The tea and candy are relevant because that’s what Trayvon was carrying, not a gun like a “thug” would carry……

    • Exactly!!! And I find it very interesting that the “Right” girl, Dandi, started trashing the “Left” for being racists! So, now it’s racist to try to get justice for murder. That says it all to me of what the Republicans have sunk to be: A bunch of old, rich, racists, women hating, gay bashe

    • Exactly!!! And I find it very interesting that the “Right” girl, Dandi, started trashing the “Left” for being racists! So, now it’s racist to try to get justice for murder. That says it all to me of what the Republicans have sunk to be: A bunch of old, rich, racists, women hating, gay bashers, war mongering, whore mongering, haters of the poor and elderly, a bunch of old men who crave power over everything! And they point their fingers at everybody else as being the problem when it’s them who are dismantling America bit by bit!! It is them who are race baiting! Anyway, this is about Trayvon Martin and justice!!! I was simply venting my ire over “Dandi” for her bringing her political bent into this! She can’t drop her prejudice for a few seconds to let people grieve in peace. This is what really breaks my heart for Trayvon’s family and the people who knew and loved him and the people who now know of him and hold him as an example of what is a horrible law in many states: Stand Your Ground is a license to kill and get off scot-free!! Since this law was passed in Florida the number of homicides have tripled!! This is a disgrace in a so-called civilized Nation!!!

  10. Technically, we shouldn’t complain about the photo selection because it shouldn’t matter at all what Trayvon looked like and we shouldn’t equate darker skin with “more sinister/thuggish looking.” On the other hand, this is something even the best of us may struggle with because Western culture has traditionally associated dark with evil–we have all been raised on movies and cartoons that do this. And in any case, the contrast between the photographs was clearly intended to be noticed by Fox News’ proudly racist viewers (perhaps not all of them are, but a good number are).

    My question is, why didn’t they use Zimmerman’s mug shot?

  11. In the interest of accuracy, the picture of Trayvon in the first graphic was not photoshopped. It’s a photo of a picture on a sign at a rally for Trayvon. Somebody downloaded the original pic from the Internet and printed it in larger scale to put on a sign. The differences between the pictures is due to the printing process rather than deliberate photoshopping. Of course, Fox News nevertheless chose to use the poorer quality picture when they could have used the original.

  12. It doesn’t matter if Martin was “Thuggish” looking or not they are vilifying the victim and making Zimmerman who has a proven record of violence out to be some saint who was saving his neighborhood from some hooded mastermind thief. They can put his pretty little smiling picture up all they want but the facts are pointing at him as someone who was looking for trouble from jump.

  13. A 17 year old walking to the store at 3:00 a.m. to purchase a can of Arizona Tea and a pack of Skittles,while talking to his girlfriend on the phone, no laws are being broken. A neighborhood watch “captain” also awake at 3:00 a.m. sees the young man walking and calls 911 to report someone is walking through the neighborhood acting suspicious. 911 Dispatcher says that units are being sent to investigate. The watch captain grabs his loaded pistol and attempts to confront the 17 year old when he is already aware that police are on the way. During an alleged struggle or possibly a real struggle the man shoots the unarmed 17 year old in the chest, killing him. These are the basic facts of the story. Mr. Zimmerman went looking for trouble, Trayvon Martin was simply getting a snack and walking home. Take the color of skin of either person out of this story and you have a male that confronted a teen male because of a split second decision to go after him rather than wait for law enforcement to investigate. George Zimmerman made a choice to go after this young man and the results were one dead teenager, one arrested male. Zimmerman’s decision was wrong and both families are paying a high price for it. These are the basic facts, no skin color was mentioned and in reality it doesn’t matter what race either of the two involved are/were. Leave the media out of your feelings and ask yourself was this right. If you are honest with yourself you will say no.

    • It happened around 6:40PM, BTW, not 3:00AM. Just saying for accuracy sake. Other than that, I agree with you on all you said! Good job, Bo!!

  14. Dandi, et. al., Just what was Trayvon doing that warranted him being stalked and shot dead, whilst armed with non leathal amounts of candy and iced tea. Even if he was a thug, he was not doing business at the time, was unarmed, and posing no threat to anyone, anywhere. You should be more concerned about a wannabe cop who has a history of domestic violence patrolling the streets with a handgun, who ignores calls by police professionals to break off his pursuit. But, it’s all good. Someone wants to approach me, a law abiding citizen and I have my CCW permit and my Walther PPQ at the ready.If I am being followed and harassed like Trayvon was, I’ll blow a hole in him big enough for a rabbit to run through. Hell, I may just move to Sanford on principle.

    • A point I’d like to see addressed is this: Zimmerman was following a teenager after dark in the teen’s own neighborhood. The teen was probably getting a little scared (isn’t that what the cell record shows?). When Martin turned between the homes to get to his house, Zimmerman GOT OUT OF HIS CAR and pursued him on foot. Now, if that was me – and I haven’t been a teenager in 50 years – I’d be petrified! I’d run. I’d do something.
      Zimmerman claims Martin attacked him. If he did (and I don’t believe that for a second!), MARTIN was standing HIS ground, don’t you think? He was being stalked by an unknown older man. He was probably scared half to death.
      Second point: Zimmerman said Martin was bashing his head against the concrete sidewalk, but Martin’s body was found face-down IN THE GRASS – not on the sidewalk. Did Zimmerman shoot him while he was on top of Zimmerman, then throw his body all the way over to the grass? If so, he was presumably much stronger than Martin, who was a tall but skinny kid.
      The whole thing reeks.
      The fact that Zimmerman’s father, the judge, as in on the police questioning tells me a great deal about this whole smelly situation.

  15. Thanks for the correction on the Trayvon photos, Gregg.
    It should be noted that Zimmerman wasn’t even “on duty” when he went after Trayvon. I think it’s not unreasonable to suppose that he was looking for trouble.

  16. The blatant racism shown in the comments section sickens me… A boy my age was murdered out of fear and hate and people are defending his killer just because the victim was black… I have just lost my faith in humanity!
    Does anyone else think that this murder is the Emmett Till case of today? Its showing us the progress the United States still has to make…
    If a 17 year old white girl can see this why can’t you?

    • Don’t lose your faith in humanity for the actions of clearly racist, abusive people. If you do they have broken you down to where they want you. Weak. Stand your ground and continue to stand up for whats right. Raise beautiful, kind, smart children with your same beliefs. As a mother I’m horrified by Zimmermans actions and the people who support the actions. Photographs do not tell you who this kid was. The fact is this, if Zimmerman had followed instruction and stayed in his vehicle, we wouldn’t be having this conversation, and a family wouldn’t be mourning thier child. I’ve seen many photos of teens “pretending to be thugs” on facebook of ALL races, doesn’t mean they are guilty of crimes. As a journalism major I avoid Fox because they are anything but “fair and balanced”. They are not different than sensational tabloids. They incite fear in thier audience which is a powerful motivator.

  17. Fact is Dandi, even the oldest pictures of him they have, he is 17 years old. 17 and about a 130 pounds that did not possess weapons. And he was shot and killed by a grown 200 pound man who “feared for his life”…and the police just went with that. That’s what we DO know. We also know that the injuries they claim he had he did not have. The difference between the photos is that there isn’t an issue with potraying a young kid as a young kid, but there is an issue with making a 17 year old boy’s photo look like a mug shot.

  18. Me thinks Dandi may be a racist himself. Me thinks Dandi may be Zimmerman himself. Whata d ouche bag.

  19. Here is the point. Photojournlism and News ETHICS! say that you cannot alter a photo in this manner. Period. And people, good photojournalist and news people have lost their jobs over such stunts.
    Are many of the networks running old photos of Martin… yes. Should they show up to date one.. yes. Is this photoshopping of the photo racially motivated… yes. No question. The photo was altered to show martin in a more sinister fashion. That is what dark shadows do. Even if he was a white guy… it would have made him look more sinister. Someone’s head should roll.

  20. Perception and the visual tools used by the media for SURE sway public opinion, be it overt or subliminal..I noticed different stations using the smiling in a suit image of Zimmerman and instead of the images of Trayvon in his football uniform and red Hollister T (my 14 y/o has the same one) they started using images of him in a black hat..if you guys don’t believe Zimmermans legal team had a hand in providing that smiling photo over the mug shot image you would be foolish. This case hits so close to home, as my biracial child walks to 711 all the time, despite the fact he has grown up in a predominantly white environment..summer camps..etc….I think of his facebook images where he tries to be ‘tough’ or if he was in some neighborhood with his hood on..how would he be percieved? My honor roll sweetheart who wouldn’t hurt a fly? Would Zimmerman have approached a white kid on a skateboard the same way? I’m sorry but regardless if he is or is NOT racist in his mind he profiled Trayvon. He stalked him. He murdered him. Thank God he has a prolific sweet mother and his father was in his life. Imagine if he had not come from such a stable background..imagine all the children his age. Unfairly profiled and murdered that had no voice? I pray for them. I pray for justice.

  21. I meant pious mother..not sure if she is prolific.
    Also, I personally do NOT disagree with the right for a citizen to have arms, although its not as prevalaint here in the Northeast. But Zimmerman is obviously a paranoid narcissist and murderer and COWARD..if they did scuffle..he couldn’t use his punk ass hands?

  22. What is also interesting about the first photo is that that word ‘Charges’ appears on top of T. Martin’s photo and as part of a black frame that makes the writing and Martin’s photo a visual unit. the viewer immediately assumes that the one being charged is the person in the black frame. Also aside from the photoshopping issue of Martin’s photo, Zimmerman’s smiling face is more typical of photos used in TV news to portray a vicitim rather than a perpetrator. This comes through in the second photo where Martin, the victim, appears serious, whereas Zimmerman’s photo causes a more sympathetic reaction in the viewer because he is smiling. In other words, why didn’t they chose a photo of a smiling Martin and a mug shot of Zimmerman? If would be interesting to run an experimeent with people who are unfamiliar with the case or using similar photos of other people to see their rections/comments.

    • Nice comment Emanuele…great observations!!!!! This is wrong 🙁

      • As i mentioned in the previous response Emanuele…AWESOME POST!!!!!!!!! Thanks!

  23. Do you see what i have been saying Mark? Everyone throws around the RACIST word like it means something. When they dont understand the meaning (you are one of them). You are somewhat accurate! You say they changed the photo and you are correct. When you cry Racism over garbage like this, it weakens its meaning (similar to crying wolf). Is your point about the darkening valid “Yes”,but by crying racism and racist all the time with everything, your word becomes stale (see crying wolf comment). Does Fox News have an agenda? I would think so, but you have to admit they show a lot of things that are buried or barred from the others. By trying so hard each and every article to slam Fox News, your showing through your words your HATRED and animosity. Point out the facts and let your readers come to there own conclusion. BTW Are you considered a journalist? just wondering..lol..

  24. Damn that Fox News…lol..you would never get this from CNN,NBC, CNBC..choke choke..cough…ZZZZZZZZZZZZZ: Mark change you career to shit peddler…you sir are not a journalist!

  25. This shit is bullshit though Mark…referring to what FOX News did with the photo…We need to hold ALL media outlets accountable for crap like this..NOT just Fox…But all!!!!!

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