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Nokia says it took 'appropriate action' for fake-pic debacle

Company says it's concluded internal inquiry and confirmed "poor judgment" was used in regard to faked picture and video it said were captured by the just-launched Lumia 920.

Roger Cheng Former Executive Editor / Head of News
Roger Cheng (he/him/his) was the executive editor in charge of CNET News, managing everything from daily breaking news to in-depth investigative packages. Prior to this, he was on the telecommunications beat and wrote for Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal for nearly a decade and got his start writing and laying out pages at a local paper in Southern California. He's a devoted Trojan alum and thinks sleep is the perfect -- if unattainable -- hobby for a parent.
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  • SABEW Best in Business 2011 Award for Breaking News Coverage, Eddie Award in 2020 for 5G coverage, runner-up National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Award for culture analysis.
Roger Cheng
One of Nokia's first Lumia ads showed a couple shooting video with a Lumia 920, comparing it to video shot without Nokia's optical image stabilization. The footage, however, was faked. Nokia

Nokia said it exercised "poor judgment" in faking video and stills supposedly shot by the recently unveiled Lumia 920 and that it has taken "appropriate action" to deal with the situation.

A Nokia representative, however, declined to specify what "appropriate action" actually meant.

"Today, we concluded the internal investigation, and our findings confirm that poor judgment was exercised in the use of the materials," the company said in an e-mailed statement. "As a result, we have taken appropriate action."

The Wall Street Journal first reported on Nokia's conclusion of its internal investigation.

Shortly after Nokia debuted the Lumia 920 and showed off a video and photos meant to illustrate the power of its PureView camera, bloggers including The Verge pointed out that the vid and photos were simulated and shot with other equipment. Nokia apologized shortly after and launched an internal probe into the snafu.

The faked image controversy is an ill-timed black eye for a company that's still out to prove that its Windows Phone 8-powered line of Lumia smartphones are worth purchasing.

The PureView camera was supposed to be one of Nokia's biggest features, and it's unclear how much of an impact this stumble will have on sales or on the perception of the company.

The phones are expected to launch later this year in selected markets. But the devices face tough competition with the recently unveiled iPhone 5, preorders for which are already being taken and which will hit stores next Friday.