“Use Of Unrealistic Photos Could Turn Great Genetic Engineering Stories Into Nightmare.” Dr. Margaret Karembu
By Mekonnen Teshome
The use of good and attractive photos in any news story is instrumental to enhance the readability of the news and build trust with readers. Images and graphics are outstanding tools to give the story the exact context and increase understanding among the audience.
Using only one powerful photo or illustration, a writer can give his audiences the best imagination and picture about a subject matter and easily influence the audiences. However, the use of wrong and unrealistic photos accompanying a story could turn the entire message into nightmare.
International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA-AfriCenter) Africa Director Dr. Margaret Karembu says that there are wide practices of uncontrolled usage of unrealistic and generic photographs in biotechnology and especially genetic engineering media reports which unfortunately end up depicting the state-of-the art biotechnology science as frightening and abnormal contrary to the fact and scientific truth.
“Use of Unrealistic Photos Could Turn Great Genetic Engineering Stories into Nightmare,” she said.
According to her, this situation leads to creation of misconception about the science of genetic engineering which is one of the amazing scientific applications useful to humanity through the utilization of biological matter or processes to generate new and useful products and processes.
“The creations of photographs as if scientists modify tomatoes that have noses and teeth as humans or showing scientists directly injecting potatoes or tomatoes with a needle to do genetic engineered products are totally unrealistic and an act of deceiving audiences,” Dr. Margaret who was here in Addis Ababa for “Focus Group Discussion (FGD) and Media Café on the use of Genome Editing in Sorghum Improvement”, July 19 -20, 2023, pointed out.
Befekadu Hailu, an editor of an independent media house in Addis Ababa, agrees that several newsrooms in Ethiopia use stock images and reuse file photos to accompany their news stories.
Especially, when it comes to genetically modified crops journalists have always publish photographs of their own imaginations not something related to the real biotechnology research or laboratories and the field trials spots.
In many stories of Genetically Modified Crops journalists are seen using the same generic photo of a tomato with a nose or directly injected with a needle or a picture of the highly colored maize as cliché practice, he asserted.
“The use of unrealistic photos coupled with the lack of photo captions give the audience the wrong impression and put them in the dark.” Senait Mekuria, a professional photographer added.
“To make the the issues worse journalists snatch and use common and generic pictures in the web without any credits and leave their readers in uncertainty,” She said.
According to Senait, similar and repeated images are used on stories about GMOs misleading readers and sending erroneous messages about the products using various Photoshop techniques against the ethical principles of journalist and creating bias and misconception about the science of genetic engineering.
Many scientists believe that media portrayals that focus on controversies and risks, the spread of misinformation through social media outlets, and visceral emotional responses related to health, environment, ethics, and cultural values including the unrealistic and wrong usage of photography have led to profound misconceptions about GMOs and are contrary to the existing scientific facts and available evidence-based information.