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Article
Epistemic Honesty and the Default Assumption that Photos are True
SIMILE: Studies in Media & Information Literacy Education (2007)
  • Scott B. Fosdick, San Jose State University
  • Shahira Fahmy
Abstract

Most magazine editors rely on readers to assume that a photo has not been significantly altered unless labeled otherwise. That reliance helps continue the longstanding fallacy that there is such a thing as a pre-alteration state of photography that is natural and truthful. This article sees a need for epistemic honesty , information added to help the receiver judge the truth or accuracy of a piece of communication. It looks to verbal language and the quotation as models for the honest presentation of samples of reality. The result is a recommendation for a visual equivalent to the quotation mark to alert the reader that a photo meets a certain standard of truthfulness.

Publication Date
February, 2007
Publisher Statement
SJSU users: use the following link to login and access the article via SJSU databases
Citation Information
Scott B. Fosdick and Shahira Fahmy. "Epistemic Honesty and the Default Assumption that Photos are True" SIMILE: Studies in Media & Information Literacy Education Vol. 7 Iss. 1 (2007)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/scott_fosdick/3/