Vice media group apologized Sunday for publishing the work of an artist who edited photos of Khmer Rouge genocide victims to make them look like they were laughing, calling it a “failure of the editorial process.”
Vice Asia published an interview with Matt Loughrey on April 9, describing his work of coloring pictures of inmates in Tuol Sleng Prison, where they were tortured and interrogated before being sent to the murder fields. Not only were they colored, but the prisoners’ faces were processed to look like they were smiling. The article has since been removed.
Cambodia condemned the altered photos shortly after they were published. The Cambodian Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts said it believed that images “seriously undermine the dignity of the victims” and called for these images to be cracked down due to the threat of legal action, The Guardian said.
On Friday, April 9, VICE Asia published an interview with Matt Loughrey, an artist who works to restore and colorize images from Security Prison 21 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, used by the regime’s regime from 1975 until the fall in 1979. Khmer Rouge. article featured photos of Khmer Rouge victims who manipulated Loughrey without coloring. Story did not meet VICE editorial standards and has been removed. We regret the mistake and will investigate how this failure of the editorial process came about, ”the company said said in a statement
In the interview, Loughrey said his work on the photos had started after someone from Cambodia contacted him to have three photos restored. More requests soon followed. While some inmates were already smiling in their photos, Loughrey admitted to smiling at others.
The Department of Fine Arts said Loughrey’s work violated the rights of the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, as did the statues’ rightful owners and custodians, The Guardian reported.
“We urge researchers, artists and the public not to manipulate any historical source to respect the victims,” the ministry said.