Author maiBook of Veles photos and text manipulated

A book by celebrated Magnum photographer Jonas Bendiksen documenting life in Veles, the 'fake news' capital of North Macedonia, turned out to be a work of disinformation itself.

Purporting to investigate disinformation production activities in a rural town notorious for its disinformation and misinformation factories, Bendiksen's The Book of Veles had been positively reviewed and screened at film festivals. 

However, with Veles' disinformation industry in decline, Bendiksen had manipulated his photos using 3D software to make them more realistic. He also used a large language AI model to generate the accompanying commentary. 

The author confessed his manipulation after a Veles journalist took to Twitter to expose his fraudulent activities.

News, commentary, analysis 🗞️

• https://www.wired.com/story/true-story-bogus-photos-people-fake-news/

• https://www.codastory.com/authoritarian-tech/jonas-bendiksen-book-of-veles/

• https://www.washingtonpost.com/photography/2021/10/15/jonas-bendiksen-book-veles/

• https://www.niemanlab.org/2021/12/manipulated-media-will-fool-you-yes-you/

• https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/misinformation-desk/202110/the-book-veles-disinformation-north-macedonia

• https://collectordaily.com/jonas-bendiksen-the-book-of-veles/

• https://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk/book_reviews/fake-news-how-jonas-bendiksen-hoodwinked-the-photographic-community-with-the-book-of-veles-160472

• https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/the-current-for-oct-20-2021-1.6217855/this-photojournalist-faked-an-entire-book-to-highlight-how-hard-it-is-to-spot-misinformation-1.6218251