The Ghost of Snapped Shot

Jackboot-in-the-box.

The following caption was transmitted by Reuters stringer Danish Ismail to describe the scene above. I've highlighted what I think are some key phrases:

An Indian army soldier kicks the door of a residential house during a search operation near the site of a gun battle with suspected militants in Maloora on the outskirts of Srinagar October 21, 2010. The gun battle broke out on Thursday between Indian troops and separatist militants in a residential area on the outskirts of Srinagar, the summer capital of Kashmir, police said. There are no reports of any injuries or deaths so far, police added. REUTERS/Danish Ismail (INDIA)

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Let's examine two things about this photograph: The arrangement of the photograph itself, and its associated caption.

The photo itself depicts the Indian Army in the midst of some dramatic violence, kicking down a door. As to whether or not this is intentional, it certainly presents them as if they were needlessly violent, even though the gentleman at the left looks reasonable enough..

The caption continues to stress this composition, though, leading with the loaded phrase "kicks the door of a residential house." Obviously, this is an important fact to our photographer, but it doesn't end there. Danish continues by pointing out that the gun battle broke out "in a residential area." And while I would think that it'd be worth pointing out that the militants were hiding in these private homes—putting the innocent civilians that live there at direct risk—our buddy Danish doesn't.

Combined, we're left with a rather one-sided view of events that, as seems to be standard fare out of Kashmir these days, places the blame for violence solely on the Indian Army—who as far as I can tell are working desperately to maintain stability in Srinagar.

It's not exactly "dishonest," but it sure does seem shady.

 Tags: REUTERS danish ismail #NewsInFocus