See above a screenshot from DNA India's report earlier this morning. The photo of Erin Simpson has since been replaced with a photo of Jessica Simpson. (Credit: DNA India, screenshot)

A Getty Image photo wrongly identifying its subject as Jessica Simpson resulted in an error by the daily newspaper DNA India, iMediaEthics discovered this morning.

The Getty photo shows a blonde woman identified as American singer Jessica Simpson, but she is not the woman pictured.  After a little research, iMediaEthics found out who the woman pictured is — another Simpson, New Zealand TV host Erin Simpson at the Nov. 3 New Zealand Television Awards.

Megan Richards, a spokesperson for TVNZ, the station for which Erin Simpson works, confirmed with iMediaEthics by email that the woman pictured is Erin Simpson.

(Credit: Twitter, screenshot)

Getty’s original caption identified the woman as Jessica Simpson, but the photo was of Erin Simpson, a New Zealand TV host.  The original caption read:

“AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND – NOVEMBER 03: Jessica Simpson poses as she arrives for the New Zealand Television Awards at the Langham Hotel on November 3, 2012 in Auckland, New Zealand. (Photo by Sandra Mu/Getty Images)’

But, Getty Images corrected its caption after iMediaEthics asked about the error.  The new caption replaces Jessica Simpson’s name with Erin Simpson’s.  iMediaEthics wrote to Getty asking about this and any corrections. Getty Images Public Relations Manager Jodi Einhorn told iMediaEthics by email:

“When Getty Images was made aware of the caption, it was immediately corrected on our website.”

The photo caption as it appears on Getty’s website now identifies the woman as Erin Simpson, but doesn’t have a correction note.  The hyperlink for the photo also has been changed from (emphasis ours)

http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/jessica-simpson-poses-as-she-arrives-for-the-new-zealand-news-photo/155331334  to
http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/erin-simpson-poses-as-she-arrives-for-the-new-zealand-news-photo/155331334

We’ve asked Einhorn if Getty has issued any corrections, especially over the wire, for this error, but haven’t had any response as of publication time. We’ll update with any news.

See above the original caption on Getty Images’ website. (Credit: Getty Images, screenshot, highlight added)

iMediaEthics found the Getty error when looking into DNA India’s use of the photo with its Nov. 28 report, “Jessica Simpson is pregnant again.”   The article, by “entertainment news agency” Bang Showbiz, reports on American celebrity gossip magazine US‘s  anonymously sourced report claiming Simpson, the Texas-born singer, is pregnant.  DNA India identifies itself as a seven-year-old Mumbai-based “English broadsheet daily.”

DNA India has since changed its photo to an actual photo of Jessica Simpson, but there’s no correction or notice of the change.

iMediaEthics has written to DNA India asking for a correction and what prompted the photo change. iMediaEthics will update with any response.

UPDATE: 11/29/2012 1:06 PM EST: Added info about Bang Showbiz.