Microsoft apologizes for race-swap photo incident

niceguyrichy

Microsoft apologized Tuesday for using photo editing techniques to change the race of a person depicted on the company's Web site.

In a photo on the company's U.S. Web site, three businesspeople--one black, one white and one Asian are shown as part of a pitch for Microsoft's business productivity software. In the same photo on the site of Microsoft's Polish subsidiary, a white head is placed over the black person's body, although the hand is not changed.

The move sparked controversy after it was noticed, quickly making the rounds on Twitter and various Web sites.

"We are looking into the details of this situation," a Microsoft representative told CNET News. "We apologize and are in the process of pulling down the image" from the Polish site. Microsoft also apologized on its corporate Twitter feed.
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Source: CNET

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BlueMak

Racism in eastern europe? no way!

The important question is, who is that hottie on the right?

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The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis
This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm Sic semper tyrannis.

IvanV

Well, while not really a discrimination and prejudice-free region (is there one that is?), Eastern Europe doesn't really have a black population of it's own and therefore it also lacks stereotypes about black people (other than, perhaps, the one that they have big di*ks), which are the first thing you need for real discrimination against a group.

The idea was probably that people would relate themselves better to the happy image if the people in the picture looked a little more local. The execution was pi** poor, though, and little wonder that people got offended. Had they simply taken 15 minutes to snap a picture of three local people cheerfully pretending to be working together, I don't think that anyone would have found it strange that a local web-site uses a picture featuring some local mugs. But cutting of a black guy's head and replacing it with a white one while leaving his hands as well as the Asian guy (who was probably declared honorary white) pretty much makes this as bad as photo forgeries get.

On a side note, seeing how obviously staged the political correctness of the original photo is (if it's three people, it's got to be one woman with one black and one Asian man), it's obvious that in certain other parts of the world people are only too aware of racial issues for me to really believe that such things as racism are truly a thing of the past there.

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Falstaff

reverse racism...
when company changes someone's race to focus the market thats racism or at least hypocracy.
Welcome to marketing one o one.

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procupine14

Not to mention that WTF microsoft?!?!?!?! who's the guy that get fired for his terrible photoshop skills god! Even the head isn't well positioned on the suit. The sizing is slightly off IMO and the color of the pasted image isn't quite right either. To me it looks a tad washed out.

All I have to say is....WOW

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comp_ali

Well , for the people I know . I think Germany has much racism . I chatted with some people from there and once they knew I am from the middle east they began throwing insults and some shit like "Hitler....."
Aside from that I don't think Europe has much racism at least not like a wide portion of American people.

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IvanV

porcupine14 << Dude, not putting the new head just right is the least weird thing in that photo. I mean, they left the hands black. And not that the original was without it's own "good" sides. I'm not sure why are all of them grinning like that, but it looks to me that the monitor in front of the woman is of the wireless variety. Also, the laptop in front of the colour changing man looks very much like a de-branded MacBook (all cultural and ethnic diversity permitted, I'm not sure that MS wants companies to empower their workers with products from that particular brand). Everything considered, I think that the best caption for the photo would be "Sense - this picture makes none."

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Zardon

While I liked the polish version - microsoft have also done one for alien races to attract a bigger audience.

Judas

lol!

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BlueMak

Definitely, it's not as racism free and as tolerable as any say arab culture country. There is the true freedom.

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The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis
This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm Sic semper tyrannis.

BlueMak

I wonder if the original version had ewok. If yes, then I am all in favour of this racist move.

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The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis
This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm Sic semper tyrannis.

BlueMak

I am still waiting for an answer. Who is that unbelievable hot woman in the photo?

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The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis
This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm Sic semper tyrannis.

craig5320

Now you mention it BlueMak, I think it looks like they've stuck Angelina Jolie's head on a man's body?

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IvanV

It's just a stock photo, who knows who took it and who are the people in it, she's just some semi-anonymous model or actress. Still, maybe you could call MS and find out what advertising company they licensed the original photo from, then call them to see who was the photographer and try to get in touch and find out who his model was, all the while avoiding stalking charges.

Love the Chewbacca version! If it were the original, nobody would dare photoshop him out of it.

BlueMak, while some Arab countries arguably aren't among the most tolerant places in the world, I know a few people who went to work there (UAE, Qatar, ...) and the only thing I ever heard any of them complain about was the alcohol ban.

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niceguyrichy

a wookie, a PP presentation, and Bill with tits.
the ultimate geek fantasy... ?

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BlueMak

You are missing my point.

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The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis
This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm Sic semper tyrannis.

Tyrsonswood

It's getting better, LAMO

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dj_stick

lol Ricky, that is awesome

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comp_ali

It turned into sexism swap ,

@ bluemac : I am not speaking of countries or systems I am speaking of individuals , so let's not turn this thread into political discussion . The thread is going better now

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BlueMak

ali, let's leave it. I know you well enough.

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The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis
This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm Sic semper tyrannis.

craig5320

Ken Kutaragi isn't taking the news of a 360 price drop very well!

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niceguyrichy

not only that, but his iPhone just exploded catastrophically

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BlueMak

Can anyone make this with anthropomorphised dogs?

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The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis
This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm Sic semper tyrannis.

Cow_160483

Microsoft lol

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Decode!
Muhahahahah!

IvanV

And a good thing it did, it's better than what Bill would have otherwise done to him when he found out he had an iPhone. I love you guys!

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LeanWolf

Brilliant!

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IvanV

I like what people at Something Awful did with the photo:



They have several more, I quite liked a couple of them. [link]

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niceguyrichy

some people have too much time on their hands...

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IvanV

Says the guy who contributed two pictures to this thread.

EDIT: I just noticed the "Secret Meeting" version on the last page. Who is the third guy in the picture?

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