Angela Smyth: Hoax
From Eikaiwa Wiki
- In 2005, Metropolis (an English magazine published in Japan) carried an article called "Killing the Golden Goose: A recent “victory” for foreign workers is not what it seems" click here for the article. The article contained strong criticism directed at union leaders Dennis Tesolat and Bob Tench, it used carefully crafted words, and was strongly pro-corporate. The article was widely criticized as propaganda written by someone in the upper echolons of NOVA and dismissed due to it's misrepresentation and inaccuracies in it's treatment of Shakai Hoken.
- Metropolis never mentioned in the article that "Angela Smyth" was a pseudonym (not the real writer's name), but apparently did so on a message board. Metropolis added the picture of 'Angela Smyth' when readers brought the authenticity of the article in question... had it really been written by a English teacher in Tokyo?
- Several of the readers inquired about the authenticity of the photograph comments that followed the article. Metropolis never mentioned that the photograph was fake (and in fact unauthorized) leaving the readers to assume the picture was legitimate. The Society of Professional Journalists[1] begins it's code of ethics with:
- "Test the accuracy of information from all sources and exercise care to avoid inadvertent error. Deliberate distortion is never permissible."
- Metropolis didn't just use any picture, it used one that was part of a series on the site www.photo.net which at that time was most likely part of a portfolio that was not accessible to search engines (registration or subscription was required). Failing to mention that the photograph was not of the writer was a deliberate deception and a distortion of the truth. They didn't just use any photograph, they used one with obscured details that was not free content and was at the time impossible to track the origins of.
- The portfolio is now publicly accessible and, it turns out after contacting the photographer, that the woman in the photo has never been to Japan, never been to Tokyo, and obviously wasn't a English teacher. On the metropolis site the photographer is not given credit for his work (in violation of his copyright as noted on his website).
Who is the real 'Angela Smyth' ?
- Here are some pictures from the series which were taken at Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts in 2002 ( a full 3 years before Metropolis ran the article).
Photo courtesy http://philip.greenspun.com actual gallery here
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