Photoshop experts wanted: Beijing scrambles to protect officials from doctored-image scandals
'Official' images that are more fiction than fact prompt Beijing to seek a computerised judge
As more and more officials are blackmailed using faked digital photographs, the government is asking scientists for help.
Research teams at major universities have received funding from the central government to come up with ways to help the authorities quickly determine whether an image has been manipulated by photo-editing software such as Photoshop.
In China, sending a government official a batch of sexually-scandalous photos for extortion has become a thriving business. Sometimes the pictures are real, but in most cases the official’s head has been superimposed on to a body that does not belong to him.
Nevertheless, many have paid up fearing that if the photos are circulated they would prompt an investigation .
For Beijing, there is also another worry. Local propaganda officials frequently use Photoshop to improve photos of government leaders.
Sharp-eyed internet users have discovered many of these fake photos on government websites, such as a party secretary inspecting work while seemingly floating in the air, undermining authorities’ already shaky credibility.