RUFA is hosting a talk dedicated to the relationship between documentary photography, artificial intelligence and the crisis of trust in images, starting from the case of the cover of L’Espresso featuring an image by documentary photographer Pietro Masturzo.
Monday 25 May 2026 – from 3.00 pm to 5.00 pm | RUFA Campus – Via Libetta, 7 – Aula Magna G13.
The talk will start from the case of the cover of L’Espresso published on 10 April 2026, featuring the photograph by documentary photographer Pietro Masturzo entitled L’abuso, and will bring together some of the figures directly involved in the editorial process and professionals from the field of documentary storytelling: Massimo Berruti, documentary photographer and moderator of the talk; Tiziana Faraoni, Photo Editor at L’Espresso; Elisa Abbadessa, Graphic Designer at L’Espresso; and Enrico Bellavia, Managing Editor and Deputy Editor of L’Espresso.
The image, taken on 12 October 2025 in the village of Idhna, west of Hebron, during the first day of the olive harvest, portrays an armed Israeli settler filming with his mobile phone a visibly distressed Palestinian woman, Meead Abu al-Rub.
Upon publication, the photograph received wide media attention, becoming not only a document of violence, but also the subject of controversy, accusations of manipulation and doubts about its authenticity. In particular, the hypothesis that the image had been generated by artificial intelligence spread across social media, forcing the author to release the full video of the scene in order to defend the authenticity of his work.
A case study on photography in the age of AI
The talk aims to reconstruct the case in all its complexity: from the conditions in which the image was taken in the field, to the editorial decision behind the cover, and through to its public reception and the political, media and digital dynamics that accompanied its circulation.
The case thus becomes a starting point for reflecting on a broader crisis: in an information ecosystem saturated with artificially generated images, often undeclared and difficult to distinguish, public trust in documentary photography risks turning into generalised suspicion.
The mechanism that should protect against disinformation may in turn become a tool for delegitimising reality: what documents the world is called into question precisely because it appears too powerful, too disturbing, too difficult to accept.
Bearing witness today: images, responsibilities, public
Through a discussion involving photographers, journalists, photo editors and visual communication professionals, the talk will address some of the central questions for those working with images today: what does it mean to bear witness to reality? What responsibilities fall on photographers, editorial teams and platforms? How can visual education help provide the public with critical tools to distinguish evidence, manipulation and simulacrum?
What is at stake is not only the reputation of a single photograph, but the very possibility of showing reality and being believed.
Speakers
Massimo Berruti
Documentary Photographer / Moderator
Pietro Masturzo
Documentary Photographer / Author of the cover photograph for L’Espresso
Tiziana Faraoni
Photo Editor at L’Espresso
Elisa Abbadessa
Graphic Designer at L’Espresso
Enrico Bellavia
Managing Editor and Deputy Editor of L’Espresso
INFO
Date: 25 May 2026
Time: from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm
Venue: RUFA Campus – Via Libetta, 7 – Aula Magna G13