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Coronavirus

28th Apr 2020

How photographic techniques are being used to shame the public

JOE

We’ve all seen them

Newspapers, news broadcasts and social media are filled  these days with images of people out in public, on the street disobeying social distancing rules.

If you’re unaware, those rules are that we remain two metres apart from people we don’t live with when in public. Quite simple. Despite this clarity, the lack of clarity around the government’s messaging on other aspects of how to keep safe has led to a moderate number of people flouting guidelines in public.

But is it possible that some of those shamed by the media for doing this weren’t doing it at all?

We spoke to Kristian Djurhuus, a photographer and photojournalist, who alongside his colleagues at Ritzau Scanpix has been highlighting how photographs taken with telephoto lenses have been used to manipulate imagery and make crowds of people adhering to social distancing appear to be much closer than they actually are.