A Russian TV channel denies accusations it altered this photo of Kim Jong-Un
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un in Pyongyang on May 31. It was the first meeting between the head of the reclusive state and a Russian official, reported news agency AFP. While reporting on the meeting, a photo of the two leaders shaking hands was broadcast on Russian state TV station Rossiya-1. It immediately caught the attention of social media users, who accused Rossiya-1 of altering the North Korean leader's face by adding a smile to it.
The image was first spotted by Twitter user @Fake_MIDRF, which Gizmodo reported is a pro-Ukraine account that regularly spots fakes in Russian media.
It prompted a flurry of similarly digitally altered photos from Twitter users.
The image of the two leaders shaking hands was broadcast on Rossiya-1's weekly news review Vesti Nedely (The Weekly News). Newsweek reported the show's host Dmitry Kiselyov denied the photo of Kim Jong-Un was altered in an interview to Moscow radio station Govorit Moskva (Moscow Speaks).
"The photographs are always taken with high-shutter-speed lenses," Newsweek quoted him as saying. "So all sorts of phases of expression turn out."
A photo released by news agency AFP - which appears to be the same as the one used by Rossiya-1 - shows Kim Jong-Un with a stern expression on his face, sans the smile.
A different photo from the meeting, however, does show Kim Jong-Un with a wide smile on his face.
The meeting between the Russian Foreign Minister and the North Korean leader comes ahead of a landmark summit between Kim Jong-Un and US President Donald Trump planned for June 12 in Singapore.
The image was first spotted by Twitter user @Fake_MIDRF, which Gizmodo reported is a pro-Ukraine account that regularly spots fakes in Russian media.
— (@Fake_MIDRF) June 3, 2018
It prompted a flurry of similarly digitally altered photos from Twitter users.
. )) pic.twitter.com/P8he4oxBDo
— (@maxsilin) June 4, 2018
— (@drindulet) June 4, 2018
— (@Axel_Moure) June 4, 2018
— Igor Chekunov (@iTcheck88) June 4, 2018
The image of the two leaders shaking hands was broadcast on Rossiya-1's weekly news review Vesti Nedely (The Weekly News). Newsweek reported the show's host Dmitry Kiselyov denied the photo of Kim Jong-Un was altered in an interview to Moscow radio station Govorit Moskva (Moscow Speaks).
"The photographs are always taken with high-shutter-speed lenses," Newsweek quoted him as saying. "So all sorts of phases of expression turn out."
A photo released by news agency AFP - which appears to be the same as the one used by Rossiya-1 - shows Kim Jong-Un with a stern expression on his face, sans the smile.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov shakes hands with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (AFP/KCNA via KNS)
A close up of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov shaking hands with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (AFP/KCNA via KNS)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov meets North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang on May 31, 2018 (AFP/KCNA via KNS)
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