Asia and the Middle East do not have a monopoly on bad government photoshopping: the West has its share too.
In 2008, the US Department of Defense made two obvious photoshopping blunders, both in photos disseminated unknowingly by the Associated Press. The first, in September, saw the department release a doctored picture of a soldier, Darris Dawson, who was killed in Iraq. When the photoshopping was discovered, the Army explained that it lacked a picture of Dawson for his memorial service, so Dawson's head and name were placed over the photo of another soldier to create the image. The Army added that the picture was not meant to be released to the public. The AP pulled the photo.
Later that year in November, the Department of Defense released a photo of Ann Dunwoody – the first female US officer to hold the rank of four-star general. But an editor noticed signs of doctoring in the photo, and quickly found the original on the Internet. The photo had been edited to make General Dunwoody appear younger, as well as to replace the background of the photo – originally an office – with an American flag. The AP pulled the photo when it became aware of the edit. The Department of Defense insisted that the edit did not violate Army policy, but the AP subsequently suspended the use of any of photos it issued.
