SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Facebook Under Fire for Censoring One of the Most Iconic War Photos
'Facebook's censorship is an attack on the freedom of expression—and therefore on democracy'
Sep 09, 2016
Facebook is under fire for censoring an iconic, Pulitzer Prize-winning photo of the horrors of the Vietnam war, with the social media site's chief, Mark Zuckerberg, being accused of "abusing his power," trying "to change history," and even waging an attack on democracy itself.
The row involving the 1972 photo by Nick Ut depicting children, including a naked nine-year-old girl, fleeing a napalm attack reportedly broke out last month when Norwegian author Tom Egeland posted it along with six others he said "changed the history of warfare," according to the Guardian.
Facebook removed the photo, saying it was in violation of the site's nudity policy, and later banned Egeland.
But public response was swift. According to TheLocal.no, Facebook's decision "led to a strong backlash in Norway, with many Norwegian users posting the photo in defiance of what many felt was unnecessary censorship of an important historical image. " The Norwegian Journalism Assoication also encouraged news outlets to share the image. And it prompted "a string of Norwegian politicians" to post the image as well, the Guardian reports.
Among them was Prime Minister Erna Solberg, who posted the photo to her page on Friday, writing that it "shaped world history."
"Facebook is making a mistake when it censors these types of photos. It contributes to limiting the freedom of expression," she wrote. Facebook deleted that post, but Solberg later posted the photo again, this time with a black box over most of the girl, and also posted several other well-known historical photos with black boxes. In her newer post, she writes, "What Facebook does by removing images of this kind, good as the intentions may be, is to edit our common history."
Bringing further attention to the controversy on Friday, the editor-in-chief of Norway's biggest newspaper, Aftenposten, published an open letter to Zuckerberg after Facebook deleted Ut's photo from their page.
Espen Egil Hansen writes that he feels the letter is necessary because he is "upset, disappointed--well, in fact even afraid--of what you are about to do to a mainstay of our democratic society."
He writes that Zuckerberg creates "rules that don't distinguish between child pornography and famous war photographs."
Calling Zuckerberg "the world's most powerful editor," he writes, "I think you are abusing your power." He later asks:
Mark, please try to envision a new war where children will be the victims of barrel bombs or nerve gas. Would you once again intercept the documentation of cruelties, just because a tiny minority might possibly be offended by images of naked children, or because a pedophile person somewhere might see the picture as pornography?
Rolv Erik Ryssdal, the head of Aftenposten's publisher, Schibsted, also criticized the photo removal, saying, "Facebook's censorship is an attack on the freedom of expression--and therefore on democracy."
As for Kim Phuc, the now 53-year-old who was depicted in the photo, a spokesperson says she "is saddened by those who would focus on the nudity in the historic picture rather than the powerful message it conveys."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Facebook is under fire for censoring an iconic, Pulitzer Prize-winning photo of the horrors of the Vietnam war, with the social media site's chief, Mark Zuckerberg, being accused of "abusing his power," trying "to change history," and even waging an attack on democracy itself.
The row involving the 1972 photo by Nick Ut depicting children, including a naked nine-year-old girl, fleeing a napalm attack reportedly broke out last month when Norwegian author Tom Egeland posted it along with six others he said "changed the history of warfare," according to the Guardian.
Facebook removed the photo, saying it was in violation of the site's nudity policy, and later banned Egeland.
But public response was swift. According to TheLocal.no, Facebook's decision "led to a strong backlash in Norway, with many Norwegian users posting the photo in defiance of what many felt was unnecessary censorship of an important historical image. " The Norwegian Journalism Assoication also encouraged news outlets to share the image. And it prompted "a string of Norwegian politicians" to post the image as well, the Guardian reports.
Among them was Prime Minister Erna Solberg, who posted the photo to her page on Friday, writing that it "shaped world history."
"Facebook is making a mistake when it censors these types of photos. It contributes to limiting the freedom of expression," she wrote. Facebook deleted that post, but Solberg later posted the photo again, this time with a black box over most of the girl, and also posted several other well-known historical photos with black boxes. In her newer post, she writes, "What Facebook does by removing images of this kind, good as the intentions may be, is to edit our common history."
Bringing further attention to the controversy on Friday, the editor-in-chief of Norway's biggest newspaper, Aftenposten, published an open letter to Zuckerberg after Facebook deleted Ut's photo from their page.
Espen Egil Hansen writes that he feels the letter is necessary because he is "upset, disappointed--well, in fact even afraid--of what you are about to do to a mainstay of our democratic society."
He writes that Zuckerberg creates "rules that don't distinguish between child pornography and famous war photographs."
Calling Zuckerberg "the world's most powerful editor," he writes, "I think you are abusing your power." He later asks:
Mark, please try to envision a new war where children will be the victims of barrel bombs or nerve gas. Would you once again intercept the documentation of cruelties, just because a tiny minority might possibly be offended by images of naked children, or because a pedophile person somewhere might see the picture as pornography?
Rolv Erik Ryssdal, the head of Aftenposten's publisher, Schibsted, also criticized the photo removal, saying, "Facebook's censorship is an attack on the freedom of expression--and therefore on democracy."
As for Kim Phuc, the now 53-year-old who was depicted in the photo, a spokesperson says she "is saddened by those who would focus on the nudity in the historic picture rather than the powerful message it conveys."
Facebook is under fire for censoring an iconic, Pulitzer Prize-winning photo of the horrors of the Vietnam war, with the social media site's chief, Mark Zuckerberg, being accused of "abusing his power," trying "to change history," and even waging an attack on democracy itself.
The row involving the 1972 photo by Nick Ut depicting children, including a naked nine-year-old girl, fleeing a napalm attack reportedly broke out last month when Norwegian author Tom Egeland posted it along with six others he said "changed the history of warfare," according to the Guardian.
Facebook removed the photo, saying it was in violation of the site's nudity policy, and later banned Egeland.
But public response was swift. According to TheLocal.no, Facebook's decision "led to a strong backlash in Norway, with many Norwegian users posting the photo in defiance of what many felt was unnecessary censorship of an important historical image. " The Norwegian Journalism Assoication also encouraged news outlets to share the image. And it prompted "a string of Norwegian politicians" to post the image as well, the Guardian reports.
Among them was Prime Minister Erna Solberg, who posted the photo to her page on Friday, writing that it "shaped world history."
"Facebook is making a mistake when it censors these types of photos. It contributes to limiting the freedom of expression," she wrote. Facebook deleted that post, but Solberg later posted the photo again, this time with a black box over most of the girl, and also posted several other well-known historical photos with black boxes. In her newer post, she writes, "What Facebook does by removing images of this kind, good as the intentions may be, is to edit our common history."
Bringing further attention to the controversy on Friday, the editor-in-chief of Norway's biggest newspaper, Aftenposten, published an open letter to Zuckerberg after Facebook deleted Ut's photo from their page.
Espen Egil Hansen writes that he feels the letter is necessary because he is "upset, disappointed--well, in fact even afraid--of what you are about to do to a mainstay of our democratic society."
He writes that Zuckerberg creates "rules that don't distinguish between child pornography and famous war photographs."
Calling Zuckerberg "the world's most powerful editor," he writes, "I think you are abusing your power." He later asks:
Mark, please try to envision a new war where children will be the victims of barrel bombs or nerve gas. Would you once again intercept the documentation of cruelties, just because a tiny minority might possibly be offended by images of naked children, or because a pedophile person somewhere might see the picture as pornography?
Rolv Erik Ryssdal, the head of Aftenposten's publisher, Schibsted, also criticized the photo removal, saying, "Facebook's censorship is an attack on the freedom of expression--and therefore on democracy."
As for Kim Phuc, the now 53-year-old who was depicted in the photo, a spokesperson says she "is saddened by those who would focus on the nudity in the historic picture rather than the powerful message it conveys."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.