Egyptian paper doctors photo of Mubarak and Obama

By Michael Calderone michael Calderone
Yahoo
Thu Sep 16, 2010 10:57 am ET

Al-Ahram, the state-run newspaper in Egypt, recently ran the above photo of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak leading President Obama and other world leaders during Middle East peace talks at the White House.

But that's not quite how the walk to the East Room played out. The BBC reports that Al-Ahram apparently had some fun with Photoshop, and placed the country's leader up front.

You can see the original Getty photo below.

Egyptian media has long faced government censorship, so it's not surprising the state-run newspaper would opt to place Mubarak ahead of the pack. News of the re-cut photo drew a swift rebuke from one of Egypt's leading opposition groups, the 6 April Youth Movement. "This is what the corrupt regime's media has been reduced to," a statement on the group's website said. The state-owned press had "crossed the line from being balanced and honest," the statement continued. But the specific reason for doctoring this photo is unclear, since Al-Ahram did not respond to the BBC's request for comment.

[Related: Doctored cover of beauty magazine causes controversy]

(Photo of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Barack Obama, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, and King Abdullah II of Jordan at the White House on September 1: Getty/ Alex Wong)