Emotions are running high on the Tibet issue, and the mischief-makers are out in force.

As an example, take a look at the photo above. It’s been making the rounds on the internet. If you believe what you see, without applying any skepticism, you might think these are Chinese cops about to put on Tibetan monks’ robes and create a little mayhem – a little psy-ops, as it were, to make the monks look violent.

Problem is, the photo is not what it seems. It’s a still photograph from the set of a 2003 movie, according to this blog. Basically, it’s a “fake news” photo.

Now, someone snatched this photo and rather maliciously (at least, in my book) is trying to stir up trouble.

I don’t know if it was this photo or another one that got Tibetans and even the Dalai Lama referring to the possibility that cops were dressing up as monks. What is disturbing is not only that it is unfair to the cops but also it allows Tibetans to exonerate themselves from the real violence that occurred in Lhasa March 14. Xinhua has a different version here.

And it’s not just one side. All sides are doing it here. They are pulling photos from movie stills, changing things around in PhotoShop, and doing all sorts of monkey business in an effort to get people worked up. There was another photo a few weeks ago that allegedly showed a Tibetan protester carrying a monster sword. It was the kind of image that on seeing one immediately thinks, “If I were there, I would run for my life.” Again, it appears that photo was fake. And it was making the rounds in China, causing people to mutter about what barbarians the Tibetans are. Again, profoundly malicious mischief. 

I think there’s an old adage that goes something like, “Believe half what you hear, and only what you see.” That would be out of date when it comes to China, where faked photos are common. Earlier this year, one of the best news photos of 2007 turned out to be a computer montage. If I remember correctly, it was a herd of antelope racing near a speeding train on the Tibetan Plateau.