White House on the defensive over ‘Orwellian’ news manipulation
The US President’s press spokesman Jay Carney has rejected accusations that it had mounted an "Orwellian" image control campaign.
One of the White House official photos
Accredited Washington press staff had said White House public relations staff were “churning out propaganda photographs and crimping editorial freedoms.”
“The association representing White House reporters has warned that streams of official photographs and videos detailing Obama's behind-the-scenes activity are no more than "visual press releases" that constrain independent news coverage,” the AFP news agency said.
Carmey said in defence of the claims: “We're not operating any differently than other White House (press) offices have operated, except that the Internet exists."
He said he completely rejected the claim that the current administration imposed more constraints on open coverage than those of previous presidents.
The row erupted once again after accredited pool photojournalists were not allowed to take pictures of Obama and former president George W. Bush aboard Air Force One en route to Nelson Mandela's memorial service.
A set of images by Obama's official photographer was later released by the White House.
Associated Press's director of photography Santiago Lyon accused the President of “Orwellian Image Control," and had "systematically tried to bypass the media by releasing a sanitized visual record of his activities through official photographs and videos, at the expense of independent journalistic access."
"Until the White House revisits its draconian restrictions on photojournalists' access to the president, information-savvy citizens, too, would be wise to treat those handout photos for what they are: propaganda," Lyon said.
The AFP said accredited press claim the approved photos lack the authenticity of independent news coverage.