And western journalists do the same on a daily basis... is this news or were you stuck for a story?

Vampires and Dear Leaders do not cast a shadow!!

Photoshop Strokes You!

That the sun bends for Kim Jong Il

Damn - where is that copter now??? They are coming to get ME!

It's not just the angle of the shadow on the wall. If you look carefully, it's not even the same wall.

But surely the most obvious, and missed by everyone I have seen comment on this, feature, is the missing line (fold? stitching?) which is obvious behind the soldiers each side of him, but strangely missing from the section of white cloth behind his legs!

When I first saw this story I could see the misaligned shadow but could easily explain that away by thinking that the drop sheet "could" be bulging out just where he was stood.

The missing fold or stitching though, well it's a bit of a giveaway isn't it?

In a way I feel guilty for pointing this out, as I suspect some poor innocent photoshopper will be severely punished for his/her mistake, but I am sure I am not the first, and I am certain I will not be the last, to notice.

.... because the shadow is smaller due to his bony scraggly Frisco Liberal Chicken Legs.

best word eva ?

Is he ronery?

and the missing seam/line at the top of the step is not a give away either is it?

Paris cos nobody would need to potatoshop her ;)

I see he has been learning from New Labour how to get yourself included in photos you might have missed the taking of! Still at least New Labour look to copy North Korea in all their other policies, maybe Gordon hopes to be known as Dear Leader as well.

Actually (unless I'm missing the element of the photo that is supposed to look photoshopped) it looks to me more like all the soldiers in the front row are standing with knees slightly bent to make him look taller.

I also note that the line at the top of the step mystereously disappears in that section of the picture.

I suspect some photoshop jokey in N Korea is going off for 'reeducation' (sorry, I mean, 'retraining') right now...

> photoshopaganda

I like it! Get it off to the OED immediately.

The lads either side of the Gorgeous Leader could have at least ironed their trews. Maybe they got dressed during one of the country's frequent power cuts...

As it's Friday, here's a romp through the history of doctored images...

http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/farid/research/digitaltampering/

Kim Jong Il is a trainspotter? Who knew?

('cos he's the one wearing the anorak, obviously).

Is it just me, or is the (partial) picture of Mr. Kim the only one that has nicely pressed pants? The two guys next to him must have the wrong pant size (probably because they only have one in Korea), with all the wrinkles!

As for being photoshoped: Bloody Obvious!

He's clearly dead centre of the stand, where there's normally a staircase, which normally doesn't have a lip.

Not that I'm saying 100% this isn't photoshopped but that isn't any evidence at all.

is going off for 'reeducation' (sorry, I mean, 'retraining') right now..."

"But of course digging six foot deep hole out here in jungle is good preparation for re-learning. Now, please to lie face down for next exercise"

all we really need is old Kimbo reading todays news paper, on VIDEO!

Work at OUP. Will pass it on. AC because im suposed to be working, but im never good on Fridays.

... the Something Awful Forum Goons have already picked up on this :-)

http://www.somethingawful.com/d/photoshop-phriday/kim-jong-il.php

Stoke is a horrible place.

"I told you I was il"

Mines the one with the gravestone in the pocket

beck....kim sumg....ham ??

The missing line thing is an odd one, especially considering the shadow of the soldier on Kim's left forms part of that clearly dodgy whole section. Difficult to tell from the top photo, but the shadof of Kim's head /seems/ to fall in the right place, and is the shadow of a shortarse.

Perhaps whichever apparatchik was given responsibility for the Photoshopping actually did it deliberately as a subtle subversion of his masters' subterfuge? Otherwise it's a bit of a schoolboy error.

Anonymous Coward - I recognise your style. Aren't you brown_trousered26 on the BBC's sPeEk YoOr bRAinZ site?

Just take a close look at the soldier on Kim's left.

And yes, that's a classic 'trick' to make a leader stand out(or up as it were) a bit more.

Of course, in situations where they have full control(as they should have here), they would normally give the leader something to stand on, then crop the picture...

As for the difference on the edge of the step, that can be attributed to the steps not being the same shape all over. (The steps are too high to comfortably walk, so one section of the stands have a different set of steps. sometimes, this section is in the middle, and sometimes there are two sections, one at either end. depends on the size of the stands.)

Of course, there's nothing in the picture to date it, so it could have been taken last year for all we know.

to the fact that the officers flanking him are wearing rumpled, stained fatigues, but the rest of the men are in clean, pressed parade dress uniform?

i dont know why they couldnt get a lookalike and put him there

surely a much easier, cheaper and less risky move than this bungling

hmm.. i'll stop giving them ideas now

No, Kim Jong Ded.

Compare this picture:

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_hVOW2U7K4-M/SQ1o_k5hGmI/AAAAAAAAjwk/yHh269HUnXg/s1600-h/y45y4yhfthjf.jpg

with the one they've just released. Looks like that might be the source image?

I came across that on Dark Roasted Blend. Here's a link to the page I saw it on (scroll down).

http://www.darkroastedblend.com/2008/11/awesome-military-funny-pics.html

See how it bends down toward the middle?

I wonder if the stands collapsed, just after this photo.

Did they pay for a license for it?

Or did they Pirate Bay all their Photoshops?

Looking at not only what they are wearing but where and how they are standing, i'd say at least 2 in not all 4 soldiers around him are all personal guards, the rest, in differing uniforms, are all cannon fodder.

A Korean source has a subtly different version of the same image:

http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200811/200811060007.html

The shadow is slanted in this picture, but is obviously a straight line rather than the more complex ones of the soldiers standing next to him. The line on the white step is missing in this picture as well.

Shurely both can't be right?

I'm not entirely convinced this is faked. Not because I don't think they would, personally I think he's probably in a coma and everything they say about him is a lie, but I'm just not sure this picture is faked. First, the platform they're standing on is obviously angled and comes to somewhat of a point at the middle where he's standing - that explains the groove that isn't seen behind him (also, the groove isn't in the shadow of the guy to his left- if photoshopped it would be much easier to add the groove behind Kim than to remove it from the rest of the picture). Second, to me it seems he's standing just a little further forward than the guys next to him, that, along with the peak of the platform and the straightness of his legs, could account for the differing shadow. Third - the rest of him looks perfect - the lighting and shadow on his coat/body, the color and tone of his clothes and skin. If you're going to photoshop someone into a picture that perfectly, you're not going to screw up that bad on something as easy as a shadow. Fourth, as others have mentioned, it would be MUCH easier for the North Koreans to either use a look-a-like for a picture from that great a distance, or just pull out an old picture that no one's seen before. You know they must have LOADS of those on hand just for situations like this. I think everything that they say is a lie, but I don't think this picture was faked - just not taken recently or taken with a stand-in.

Is the main worry not the different shadows, lack of seam etc, but that he looks like he's posing for a family snap than a military picture.

Also, that one from the korean site is more than subtley different - he's standing on hay, not concrete ,and the guys next to him have nicely pressed trousers not the baggy pantaloons that seem to be en vogue with the korean soldiers these days.

if you invert the colors you see that he looks differnet compared to every single other guy in the photo, so dont be too worried about the shadow.

The BBC have blown up the pic to spot pixel differences!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7715458.stm

And it's strange that the two next to him have REALLY baggy trousers, and everyone else seems nicely straight and ironed!

Kim Jong Il:"Do you have any idea how f**king busy I am? "

I'm so Ronley...

Did you see any weapons of mass destruction in that picture?

No, neither did I.

Quick, let's invade them while Bush and his mates are still in charge.

@Andrew Alcock:

"A Korean source has a subtly different version of the same image:

http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200811/200811060007.html"

Thanks for posting the link. This image is also photoshopped. Notice that the sunny areas on both sides of Kim are not as bright as the others. Me suspects that Kim Jong-il is probably dead or in a coma.

The quality of the light is quite different on the wall and "shadows" behind him, specially in the image in the Korean newspaper sent above.

And no, it does not seem like it could be a staircase behind KJI. The soldiers behind him, how? If all the steps are the same height as the the platform shelves, then why have a staircase? And finally, what's the chance the line would stop exactly behind each soldier?

Photoshop, definitely.

As in "aaaagh, please help me... I was forced to do this photoshopaganda and I'm doing a bad job deliberately to let you all know..."? If so, the shopper has my sympathies and I hope nothing untoward happens them.

xkcd? Ah, why not: http://www.xkcd.com/10/

... that the Dear Leader's publicity department seek some tutorials on the use of Photoshop. I can recommend the "You Suck at Photoshop" series quite highly.

..from Andrew Alcock's link

(http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200811/200811060007.html)

I notice the creases in his trousers, shoe colour, shoe angle, anorak folds etc. are about the same as the Times article.- (North Koreans obviously can't afford new clothes, not even for a Beloved Leader)

But, the blokes next to him have neatened their uniforms. Suddenly. And changed their shadows for the photo. Plus, swapped medals/ribbons between themselves. (Kim doesn't have any. Loser.)

Odd, that...............

Aside:

We've a town near where I live in Finland called "II". Yep, honest (pronounced in English as "eee", without the PC or the lady on the beach). Reckon that's where the Beloved Leader's retirement home must be, Korean being reckoned to be the hardest lingo in the world, Finnish second - he'll find (after?)life here a doddle.

Is it a gun in his pocket, or is his dick hanging out???

It could be a real photo. As pointed out before, he was standing slightly forward then the rest. I also noticed the "wall" behind him is not the same. However if you look closely, you should notice it is not a wall, but a steel case or step. It is possible that the center of platform is not as the same height. More likely slightly lower to have a stairway to the top. When taking the photo, they added some steel case/step to make them same height as the rest of platform, so the poor guy in the upper level all seem to be on level.

PH, 'cos she doesn't need to fake photo either.

FAIL