Digital photo manipulation is now mainstream [Video]

New York City –

It’s been a common refrain when seeking proof that someone’s story or some event actually took place: “Pics, or it didn’t happen.”

But in a world where the spread of technology makes photo manipulation as easy as a tap on your phone, the idea that a visual image is an absolute truth is as outdated as the daguerreotype. And a photo can sometimes raise as many questions as it was meant to answer.

That was seen in recent days when controversy descended upon an image of Kate, Princess of Wales, and her three children. News agencies including The Associated Press published, then retracted, the image given out by Buckingham Palace over concerns it had been manipulated, leading to Kate saying on social media that she occasionally “experimented” with photo editing.

In that, she’s hardly alone.

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