It's all in the wording (New McCain ad hints at lynching)

[Dark]

http://www.fox14tv.com/Global/story.asp?S=8912513

It all started Tuesday night during the FOX News at 9 show when I quickly glanced up at a TV in the studio during a commercial break and a political ad was running.

Played at full speed, it's your average run of the mill ad - John McCain's campign explaining why Barack Obama's policies are not a fit for the White House.

There was a quick shot that I glanced up and saw, and there were four letters that caught my eye. I went back after the show to make sure my eyes weren't playing tricks on me, and this was the shot in question:





On edit:

Just wanted to say that, as someone who works in communications, EVERYTHING is covered with a fine tooth comb to make sure that it isn't offensive to a group.

This was either intentional, or a huge, and I mean huge, blunder. Either way, it's repulsive.

[DangerousRhythm]

1. Okay, THAT is creepy.

:scared:

[Dark]

9. You think it was purposeful, or just incopotence?

Given our current idiot in chief, I could realistically see either.

Or perhaps both.

[DangerousRhythm]

13. If the poster below is correct about the people who did "Rats"?

I'd say purposeful. Normally I'd lean towards coincidence, but I don't know. I have to doubt it this time.

Scary shit.

[Dark]

15. Either way it's detestable.

I mean, open a history book. The word hang and black America have some rough patches, to say the least.

[bluestateguy]

2. $20 that ad was made by the people who made the "Rats" ad in 2000

Remember the "sublimnimable" ad?

[kansasblue]

3. hmmm.. I don't see it. Isn't that just a crowd with 'C H A N G E ' ?

or am I missing something?

[Mrs. Overall]

4. Letters in the back spell out "hang"

[Mike Daniels]

32. Deleted by poster

[FVZA_Colonel]

5. It probably started out that way.

But after their "tech wizards" went at it... I definetly see "hang."

[Dark]

6. Look at the only letters that are visible.

C-H-A-N-G-E minus the C and the E.

H-A-N-G. Considering America's history with african americans, it's pretty obvious why this would be offensive.

[Heather MC]

All I see is "Hang" and a pic of Obama

but like the storm that is heading to the twin peaks because of the Fundi Prayer
this tell shall come back on them
it will be swift and we will know it.

you reap what you sow

[Shanti Mama]

30. I, too, see a C before the H. They're spelling out CHANGE. nt

[rebel with a cause]

72. The C is in the shadowing as is the E

, so like the ghost in the movie "Three Men and A Little Lady" this is an illusion. But is this accidental or on purpose? I suspect it may be either.

Edited for content because I am tired and didn't realize this was a faux story. Ignore the little man behind the controversy. Obama is aware of it. It will be handled in the right way.

[kansasblue]

7. ok... got it.. thanks all.......I was looking for "lynching" ... nt

[The Traveler]

10. Image adjustment

Darkening to make it look ominous and covert ... and said darkening conceals the C and the E. What is left is (c)HANG(e). The darkening was deliberate. The transformation of CHANGE to HANG accomplished thereby may have not been noticed by the editors and reviewers of the film. If not noticed, that indicates a pretty ugly subconscious landscape within the skull of the film editor. If noticed, dude is consciously a sicko. Either way ... not someone who would be welcome at Trav's typical Saturday cook out, or who should be allowed near children.

[watrwefitinfor]

33. There's MORE to it - There is an ARROW pointing to Obama!

I lightened the image, and there is a distinct dark arrow apparently made with the same darkening tool, pointing from the left hand darkness straight to Obama's head. It is clearly not an accident.

It is absolutely alarming when you see the slightly lightened image. I got cold chills when I saw it appear there.

Can someone who knows how to do it PLEASE lighten the image and post it here?

Wat

[Gasping4Truth]

40. Here's a brightened image ...

That "arrow" is a dark-clothed spectator.

[judasdisney]

69. the "C" is darkened -- it is intentional.

[TornadoTN]

36. Agreed - I'm doubting this is a mere oversight of coincidence

Having a lot of experience in Photoshop and other image and video editing programs, that kind of thing is something you definitely look for. Beyond that, there have been some deliberate changes to that image.

1. The "C" and the "E" have been purposely darkened. There appears to be some overlap from the darkening onto the crowd in a tight radius.

2. "H", "A", "N", and G" look to have been brightened up a small amount. All of the letters have the same visual luster and depth, which is uncommon in flash photography without either A. Artifical enhancement or B. A professional lighting system. If you look closely at the center of the photo, it looks like they've added a lens flare to the center to brighten the letters and its overlapping the crowd. There's one woman who looked like a block of Velveeta cheese and looks completely out of place, her white shirt is too bright for this type of photo.

I would like to see the entire video so I can put it into perspective.

[Gasping4Truth]

41. You can watch the video at the link

in the OP.

It's no still photograph taken with flash. It's footage from a rally, and the ad shows a clip of nearly 2s from it (camera remaining steady, people clapping hands, Barack turning head), and all the while the darkened border remains the same! So for nearly 2 seconds, the word "HANG" remains spelled out over his head.

I thought people were seeing too much in it, or DU had been baited, until I checked out the footage myself.

[TornadoTN]

43. Thanks - that settles it for me

They did this one purpose. There's no way that any advertising & marketing person worth a damn would let something like this slip.

[NashVegas]

45. No, It's Deliberate. I Think It's Baiting For Controversy

To get people to view it.

[CrispyQ]

35. There is definitely a "C" in front of the "H".

Although you can barely see it. The "E" is not in the photo or was cropped out. I don't know if it was photo-shopped. Does someone have a list of all the times the media & repubs have altered images & events to appear to be something rather than what they really are?

Our media is as guilty as the administration they serve.

Shame.

:eyes:

[glancingthefuture]

58. You are right and to suggest lyching is stupid. The Dems do not

need this kind of stupid speculation.

[TTUBatfan2008]

8. yeah...

why is there a shadow over the C and the E at the end is completely cut out? I think it's intentional.

[Dark]

16. Yeah, hang is pretty obvious.nt

[The Traveler]

11. Repulsive indeed

But are you really surprised? You know what we are opposing here! Damn good catch, BTW. Good to know there are folk with keen eyes paying attention around here.

Keep yer powder dry ...

Trav

[Dark]

12. Thanks.

I'm not surprised. But it's still revolting that they'd resort to this.

Course, it was revolting that they'd resort to disgracing Kerry.

This is going to be a really mudslinging election.

[d_b]

14. yea, i'm sure that's an accident

being that the only thing you can see up top is the word HANG.

rec'ed. people on du need to see this.

[XemaSab]

17. Not cool

n/t

[truthisfreedom]

18. Sickening, reprehensible, and about to be targeted by Obama's crew, if recent attacks are any in-

dication.

[Alexander]

19. Remember the subliminal "RATS" message in 2000? This is exactly like it.

Same old Rovian tricks.

[pnwmom]

20. No question it was deliberate.

Somebody blackened the left top edge of the picture -- on purpose -- which obliterated the C. and then s/he cut off the final "E". This could only have been deliberate.

[agentS]

21. I agree with user truthisfreedom

Dirtiest...Election Ad...Ever...

I'm a youngster and all, but I'm pretty sure Kennedy vs Nixon didn't have ads suggesting hanging black folks in their campaigns.

Why don't they just go on ahead and say it?! They wanna hang Obama and any other minority who dares to rise up for the White House!
Oh wait, that doesn't play well in Suburbia. They have to subtitle and subliminize their racism.


I can't wait till the Afrosphere (black bloggers group) hears about this.

[TexasObserver]

22. I Hate the voice over people they use.

Always the same sneering, disdaining shitheads.

Why don't they say what they really want to say?! --- "Who does this &*^%$#$ think he is?!"

[unblock]

23. the darkening in the upper left is not matched in any other corner

it's not symmetric. they put some explicit effort into blotting out the upper left.

looking just at this picture, it would appear to be quite deliberate.

i haven't seen the flow of the entire commercial, so i can't rule out a more innocent explanation, but this one image is pretty damning.

[WeDidIt]

24. Absolutely intentional

They can in no way deny they darkened the corners which allowed the word to be changed to something repulsive.

[SoCalDem]

48. and professional ad people do these things frame ny frame

and analyze them over and over to get them to just the
"right" look..

This shit is NOT "accidental"...BUT they always leave an "out"..."look the "c" is THERE"...and then claim there's a conspiracy..:grr:.

They know EXACTLY what they are doing.. and once these ads "hit", they are played over and over and over as the "media" punditizes them..

[Proud Liberal Dem]

25. This ad looks pretty damning

There doesn't seem to be any real way to spin this other than perhaps to accuse it of having been altered in some way but the picture presented here seems pretty unambiguous to me. My wife and I looked at this together and she was able to see the "C" and pointed it out to me but I still can't see the "E". Nevertheless, the first and last letter seem purposely obscured leaving the letters H-A-N-G displayed prominently in the background. The fact that there is a group of people appear to be watching somebody/something (probably taken from one of Obama's speeches) and a profile picture of Obama (so that we know who the announcer is referring to) also seems to lend credence to the idea that there is something not altogether wholesome going on in this ad. Add to that the "lynching" comment previously made by O'Reilly in regards to Michelle Obama and the whole thing makes sense. I hope that this gets some coverage in the MSM.

[mojowork_n]

26. I'll be waiting for Mika & Joe & Pat to jump all over this

Blotting out the "C" was intentional.

[vaberella]

27. I'm not going to make a big thing of this and read into it.

I'm not, I'm not, I'm not, I'm not. Jesus...I'm becoming volatile.

[Triana]

28. This is the second such ad the McCain camp has done. The first one was the Moses one.

And neither of them are "mistakes". This shit is intentional.

[ForeignSpectator]

29. No way was this coincidence! Just look at the darkened areas, how

the 'C' is darkened over. You can just see how the guy went over it with a paintshop-kind-of brush tool... and then over the left-top corner, too so it "won't be obvious".

Also, the "hang" takes up the center space in this picture. If it was about Obama and higher taxes, they could have arranged Obama's head and "higher taxes" to be more to the center but they didn't because the "hang" had to be in there.

Deliberate, 100%.

PS : That "higher taxes" bullshit lie actually is still a talking point???

[justiceischeap]

31. Make sure to DU the poll when visiting the above link (nt)

[tandot]

34. Looks like someone made an extra effort to darken the "C" and "E" so only "HANG" shows

Those crocks will stop at nothing.

[blondeatlast]

37. I'm no tf hatter, but that's intentional. So much can be done with digital imaging.

It's obvious the entire scene was edited; all the darkening at the corners.

That is no accident--and I usually don't fall for this stuf. This is deliberate, no doubt about it.

The republicans have become sick mofos. STOP THEM.

[yardwork]

38. This is intentional and matches everything else they're doing - rat fuckers

[nyc 4 Biden]

39. It is SOOOO obvious that this was purposeful.

As Cenk would say... offfff coooourse!!

What other reason would there be to blur out and frame the picture the way they did??? and why choose that picture of the millions available. was this ad sponsored by McCain or a 527? This better get picked up!!! This is the #1 story of the campaign so far! are you fuckin kidding me!!! No more fair fighting, time to get medieval on their asses!!

[NashVegas]

42. There's No Way That This Is An Accident

I think it's main purpose is to stir up controversy and get people to view it on YouTube, where they can get the full message: "Barack Obama will raise your taxes."

[NatBurner]

44. nothing surprises me anymore, but this?

this is disgusting

[GreenPartyVoter]

51. It is. Pathetic and disgusting. Does this count as a threat on a nominee's life??

[crankychatter]

46. thank you for this post - very effing creepy indeed - nt

[Barack_America]

47. That shading over the "C" looks pretty deliberate.

This is chilling.

[judasdisney]

70. Why is the "C" darkened? There can be no other purpose.

[SoCalDem]

49. Google.. Obama change signs.. I dare you to find a sign like that one

His audience signs are single color or a color on a single color background..

IF that is a real picture, I'd sure like to see the original... I'm wondering if THEY inserted the letters in different colors to specifically alter them..

[ForeignSpectator]

50. Good point, maybe the whole scene background is set up, including the people... n/t

[sabra]

60. pic is real...

Democratic presidential candidate US Senator Barack Obama and his wife Michelle wave to supporters during an election night rally at the Xcel Energy Center in St Paul , Minnesota, June 03, 2008. Obama made history on June 3, 2008, capturing the Democratic presidential nomination as the first black candidate to top a major-party ticket, after a giant-slaying win over Hillary Clinton. AFP PHOTO/Emmanuel Dunand (Photo credit should read EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images)

[Enrique]

52. deliberate, but I wonder what the aim is

especially since this was reported by a Fox station.

I thought the same might be true with the Paris-Britney ads, they are picking a racial fight, as a distraction, as much as or more than they are exploiting racism.

off-topic: am I seeing things or is there also a white cartoon dog in the lower left of the frame? :crazy:

[MadrasT]

53. I believe it was 100% intentional

And those responsible are repulsive, rat-f*cking pukes.

[emulatorloo]

54. Deliberate -- a good theory on why they did this here -- Rovian booby trap

The ad company has clearly applied an oval mask to block out the C and E. . . WHY?

A good theory here:


I believe the McCain "hang" ad is a rovian trick... here's why...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=6790887&mesg_id=6790887

[burythehatchet]

55. I learned the power of subliminal messaging at a young age, this is exactly the

type of thing that is done intentionally to convey a subliminal message. These fascist, racist ratfuckers are the enemy within.

[scheming daemons]

56. They WANT us to respond, so they can inject race back into the discussion.....

They will feign indignation and accuse us of playing the race card.

DONT TAKE THE BAIT. IGNORE THIS STORY.

[scheming daemons]

57. This is a Rovian Trick... DONT FALL FOR IT

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=6790887&mesg_id=6790887

[Fleshdancer]

59. SICK!

please let there be a hell for these a**holes to rot in.

[D23MIURG23]

61. Thats fucked up.

Someone needs to be taken to task over this.

[demo dutch]

62. Edges are purposely darked... probably geared towards a specific group who "gets it"

[yellerpup]

63. I see Fox is flogging this story.

It's going nowhere except on Fox. Don't bite; it's just another of KKKarl's dirty tricks.

[BrklynLiberal]

64. There is no way this is an accident. The person who created this, and those

that approved it, knew EXACTLY what was going to be perceived....even if subliminally.

[Glimmer of Hope]

68. Why would they do something so stupid? It seems intentional and designed to

cause a certain reaction.

[AmyCamus]

65. Silly FOX News. They think we're going to fall for this? It's C-H-A-N-G-E.

Don't bite. McCain didn't plant six signs and six sign holders in the crowd behind Obama.

[AnotherMother4Peace]

66. I see "HANG". I don't see a "C" or "E" - A pretty alarming message to put in a political ad. n/t

[southerncrone]

67. Where are our legal eagles here at DU? Isn't there a new law

about promoting hate on the books?

I think this qualifies.

The excuse that they "didn't notice it" does not play. I am sure he said "I'm John McCain & I endorse the message".
That's seals the deal. If he approves it, he's guilty!

Press charges! No more Mr. Nice Guy.

[IamyourTVandIownyou]

71. What is with almost identical vertical white marks on the two men in the audience?

It almost looks like they photoshopped "Arrows" pointing upwards at the LETTERS too.

Maybe to get eyes to look up.

Good catch.

They definitely could have left the "C" on there.

lol.