E-Media Tidbits

A screengrab of a video that appears to show Saddam Hussein dropping to his death on the gallows. From a video apparently shot on a cell phone camera. Is it real?

I learned via my Tidbits colleague Steve Outing that someone shot a video of Saddam Hussein's execution -- probably using a cell phone camera. I watched it. This video appears to show not just the preliminaries and aftermath (images that were widely distributed yesterday online and via mainstream media), but the actual hanging.

...At least, that's what it looks like. Keep in mind, this video is so far unverified -- at least as far as I know. It appears quite authentic and believable. However, its source has not  been reported, and just about any video can be faked. Skepticism is warranted.

Daily Motion, where Outing saw the video earlier, has now removed it. I found it again on Google Video. I'll bet it will be removed from that site too. But if you want to chase it around the net, Outing pointed out that a simple Technorati search turns up its current location pretty reliably.

Outing's commentary nailed it. He wrote: "The camera cell phone truly changes everything, because they’re now everywhere, and are easily concealed."

You'll find a discussion by Poynter faculty and others of some of the journalistic issues involved in presenting such images here.