News Station Blames Photoshop for ‘Sexist’ Edit of Female Politician in Australia
This issue caused a stir in our media outlets yesterday.
The digitally altered image of Victorian Animal Justice Party MP Georgie Purcell used to introduce a story on Victorian duck hunting saw the white dress she was wearing in the original photo swapped for a top exposing her midriff.
"Note the enlarged bust and outfit to be made more revealing. Can't imagine this happening to a male MP," she tweeted.
Nine News has told the ABC (Australian media outlet) the alteration to Ms Purcell's midriff occurred when using Adobe Photoshop's "generative expand" tool.
The tool allows users to make an image bigger — the program uses AI to make assumptions or guesses about how that image might be best filled out with new material.
When that image was dragged downwards using the expand tool, the generated image exposing her midriff was created, according to Nine.
This was the image later incorporated into a graphic used in the network's coverage of debate over the future of duck hunting in Victoria.
Photoshop AI or mischievous media? Either way an editor must have approved it to go live. Nine News has spent the last 24 hours apologising for it.
"Adobe released a statement saying edits to the image in question "would have required human intervention and approval"."
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