Myroslav Chernov is the founder and head of the Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers (UAPP) and an international journalist for the American news agency Associated Press. Drawing from his own experiences and the work of colleagues, he discussed the manipulation of meanings in news reporting.
Photography does not exist in isolation—it is always connected with text, captions, and other images. Even in a gallery, we do not perceive a single photograph as separate from others. This is the classic Kuleshov effect, where the first shot influences the perception of the subsequent one. Many countries use photography for propaganda. While the publication of images is no longer controlled by the state, a new problem has emerged—an uncontrolled volume of content. There are assumptions that war is currently unprofitable for anyone, while staged wars may be beneficial. This issue concerns me. There is nothing wrong with the absence of war, provided there are only its representations; however, documentary images construct a convenient reality. This is just one layer of manipulation. There is also the personal perception of the reporter—their fatigue or political views. We believe in stories, not in facts.
Myroslav Chernov is the founder and head of the Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers (UAPP) and an international journalist for the American news agency Associated Press. Drawing from his own experiences and the work of colleagues, he discussed the manipulation of meanings in news reporting.
Photography does not exist in isolation—it is always connected with text, captions, and other images. Even in a gallery, we do not perceive a single photograph as separate from others. This is the classic Kuleshov effect, where the first shot influences the perception of the subsequent one. Many countries use photography for propaganda. While the publication of images is no longer controlled by the state, a new problem has emerged—an uncontrolled volume of content. There are assumptions that war is currently unprofitable for anyone, while staged wars may be beneficial. This issue concerns me. There is nothing wrong with the absence of war, provided there are only its representations; however, documentary images construct a convenient reality. This is just one layer of manipulation. There is also the personal perception of the reporter—their fatigue or political views. We believe in stories, not in facts.
UAPP is an independent association of professional Ukrainian photographers, designed to protect their interests, support, develop and promote Ukrainian photography as an important element of national culture.
UAPP's activities span educational, social, research and cultural initiatives, as well as book publishing.
UAPP represents Ukrainian professional photography in the international photographic community and is an official member of the Federation of European Photographers (FEP) — an international organization representing more than 50,000 professional photographers in Europe and other countries around the world.
