CNN-Netscape picture
labels Bush an a--hole
News coverage of Republican win includes graphic slam on president
Posted: November 4, 2004
2:26 p.m. Eastern


© 2004 WorldNetDaily.com

Do CNN and Netscape have issues with President Bush and the first lady, or is it a case of political bias?

A photograph of the couple featured in online election coverage by the AOL Time Warner companies uses a graphic slur in the coding of the picture.

The photo originally was slugged a--hole.jpg as identified when viewers clicked on the "properties" of the picture. Though the original Web address of the photo with the slur has been disabled, readers last night could actually see the photo isolated with the slur by going to the online address.

The name of the photo has now been changed, with georgelaura135.jpg replacing a--hole.jpg. [Note: The two dashes were not present in the original; rather, the slur was spelled out. WND's editorial standards include the use of dashes to veil profanity and obscenity.]

The photo is accompanied by a headline and caption reading:

"How Bush Won the Election"

"President Bush convincingly won the popular vote thanks to strong backing from his party's conservative base, as well as increased support from minority voters, according to exit polls."

Readers can click on the photo, which then takes them to more extensive election coverage provided by CNN.

The photo is a cropped image of a much larger picture taken by Associated Press photographer Pablo Monsivais on Election Day.

The caption on Yahoo's website states: "President Bush with first lady Laura wave before entering The Crawford Fire Department to vote in Crawford, Texas, Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2004. Daughters Barbara and Jenna are in the background."

If readers click on properties for that photo, there is no indication of any obscene language.

As WorldNetDaily checked other photos on the CNN/Netscape coverage, the properties used standard slug names, such as (John) Kerry concedes, or Barack20, referring to Sen.-elect Barack Obama of Illinois.

A spokesman for CNN, Matt Furman, said the network had nothing to do with the slur.

"It was an image produced by an employee of another company," he told WND. "We didn't know anything about it and had nothing to do with it.

"Most importantly, it was never on CNN.com. … It's our picture, but it never appeared on our site."

The image did appear, however, on cnn.netscape.cnn.com, which is labeled as "Netscape network news with CNN."

When asked what company was responsible, Furman would not say, though he suggested WND contact Netscape.

A call to Netscape was not returned by press time.