How photojournalist Earl Dotter discovered Russians used his work as pro-Trump propaganda
'This was a violation of my copyright,' said Dotter, who found his work in the Mueller report

Esteemed photojournalist, Earl Dotter, has been documenting Americans at work for the last 50 years. In 1976, he photographed a striking portrait of a Logan County, W.Va., coal miner named Lee Hipshire — 40 years later, Russian trolls stole it.
On page 31 of the Mueller report, Dotter's photograph of Hipshire appears as an example of Russian interference, as it was used on a poster to promote a "Miners for Trump" rally in Pennsylvania.

Hipshire died in 1987 from coal worker's pneumoconiosis, or black lung. According to his family, he was a life-long Democrat and would have been horrified to see his portrait used to promote a Trump rally.
Dotter is also unhappy. When he discovered that his photograph was used for the rally without his permission, he contacted the FBI.
"This was a violation of my copyright," said Dotter. "It was a violation of the values that Lee Hipshire personally stood for, and to my mind, it was a theft."
— Produced by Diane Eros
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