I find it terribly easy to believe that Republican attackers are so anxious to smear John Kerry that they’ll doctor a photo. I find it much more surprising that the New York Times would fall for the hoax without checking.
As Atrios noted today, the Times reported on the GOP’s desperation to find a photo tying John Kerry and Jane Fonda together in protesting against Vietnam.
“[O]n Thursday, a new photograph of the senator and the actress began circulating via e-mail,” the Times explained. The article described the picture as showing Kerry and Fonda “side by side, Ms. Fonda behind a microphone and Mr. Kerry, holding a notebook, to her right.” The Times says the origins of the picture “are unclear.”
They’re unclear if you don’t have, say, access to Google, but the Times got this one very wrong and needs to run a very big correction.
The invaluable Snopes.com, which debunks all kinds of myths, clearly shows how the alleged Kerry-Fonda photo is a hoax. Go take a look.
Frankly, I’m a little surprised that a paper like the Times would be so careless. But aside from how irritating this mistake was, it’s far more disturbing that the GOP attack machine has reached a level where they’re doctoring photos and passing them off as genuine.
It’s going to be a long year.