World Press Photo organisers say winning photo – Gaza Burial – is genuine, but was retouched

The organisers of the World Press Photo awards have insisted that the winning picture was not faked.

Technology website Extremetech.com reported on Monday that Swedish photographer Paul Hansen’s photo depicting the funeral of two children killed in an Israeli attack on Gaza City in November 2012 had been unfairly altered before being submitted for the prestigious award.

According to the Huffington Post, World Press Photo launched an immediate investigation and found the photo to be genuine, saying that “the analysis purporting photo manipulation is deeply flawed”.

However the organisation’s statement admitted that Hansen’s photo “was retouched with respect to both global and local colour and tone” although it said this was in line with competition rules.

Neal Krawetz, the analyst who claimed the image had been altered, said he felt “vindicated” in making the accusation after Hansen himself said he had used “post-process toning and balancing”.

In a blog post, Krawetz said: “In effect, the photo was digitally modified to focus the impression that it generated. The edits altered the picture's meaning.”