This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/technology/8221896.stm
The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 3 | Version 4 |
---|---|
Microsoft in web photo racism row | Microsoft in web photo racism row |
(about 6 hours later) | |
Software giant Microsoft has apologised for editing a photo to change a black man's head to that of a white man. | Software giant Microsoft has apologised for editing a photo to change a black man's head to that of a white man. |
The picture, showing employees sitting around a desk, appeared unaltered on the firm's US website. | The picture, showing employees sitting around a desk, appeared unaltered on the firm's US website. |
But on the website of its Polish business unit the black man's head was replaced with a white face, although the colour of his hands was unchanged. | But on the website of its Polish business unit the black man's head was replaced with a white face, although the colour of his hands was unchanged. |
Microsoft said it had pulled the image and would be investigating who made the changes. It apologised for the gaffe. | Microsoft said it had pulled the image and would be investigating who made the changes. It apologised for the gaffe. |
The altered image, which also featured an Asian man and a white woman, was quickly circulated online. | The altered image, which also featured an Asian man and a white woman, was quickly circulated online. |
Bloggers have had a field day with the story, with some suggesting Microsoft was attempting to please all markets by having a man with both a white face and a black hand. | Bloggers have had a field day with the story, with some suggesting Microsoft was attempting to please all markets by having a man with both a white face and a black hand. |
"The white head and black hand actually symbolise interracial harmony. It is supposed to show that a person can be white and black, old and young at the same time," said one blogger on the Photoshop Disasters blog. | "The white head and black hand actually symbolise interracial harmony. It is supposed to show that a person can be white and black, old and young at the same time," said one blogger on the Photoshop Disasters blog. |
Others have suggested the ethnic make-up of the Polish population, which is predominantly white, may have played a part in the decision to change the photo. |