Spanish paper 'sorry' over fake Chavez hospital pic
Source: AFP |
January 25, 2013, Friday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
SPAIN'S leading newspaper, El Pais, apologized yesterday after publishing a front-page photograph supposedly of ailing Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in his hospital bed, and then discovering the patient was actually someone else.
The dramatic photograph, which claimed to show Chavez lying in a Cuban hospital after his cancer operation with tubes emerging from his mouth, sparked a furious reaction from Venezuela.
"It is as grotesque as it is false," Venezuelan Information Minister Ernesto Villegas said in a comment on Twitter. The photograph was actually taken from a video of an operation posted on YouTube, he said.
El Pais, Spain's best selling newspaper and one of the most influential in the Spanish-speaking world, said the photograph remained on its online site for about half an hour before being withdrawn when the error was discovered.
The center-left newspaper also halted distribution of yesterday's edition from newsstands, though some copies were sold.
"El Pais apologizes to its readers for the harm caused. The newspaper has opened an investigation to determine the circumstances of what happened and the errors that may have been committed in verifying the photograph."
El Pais said it received the photo from the Gtres Online news agency, which claimed it was the Venezuelan leader. It stressed that the caption on the photo said El Pais was unable to independently verify the circumstances, place or date of the photograph.
The video shows the intubation of a patient with acromegaly, an excess of growth hormone.
Chavez, who remains convalescing in Cuba since his fourth round of cancer surgery, has not been seen in public since December 10.
The dramatic photograph, which claimed to show Chavez lying in a Cuban hospital after his cancer operation with tubes emerging from his mouth, sparked a furious reaction from Venezuela.
"It is as grotesque as it is false," Venezuelan Information Minister Ernesto Villegas said in a comment on Twitter. The photograph was actually taken from a video of an operation posted on YouTube, he said.
El Pais, Spain's best selling newspaper and one of the most influential in the Spanish-speaking world, said the photograph remained on its online site for about half an hour before being withdrawn when the error was discovered.
The center-left newspaper also halted distribution of yesterday's edition from newsstands, though some copies were sold.
"El Pais apologizes to its readers for the harm caused. The newspaper has opened an investigation to determine the circumstances of what happened and the errors that may have been committed in verifying the photograph."
El Pais said it received the photo from the Gtres Online news agency, which claimed it was the Venezuelan leader. It stressed that the caption on the photo said El Pais was unable to independently verify the circumstances, place or date of the photograph.
The video shows the intubation of a patient with acromegaly, an excess of growth hormone.
Chavez, who remains convalescing in Cuba since his fourth round of cancer surgery, has not been seen in public since December 10.
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