Blurring Protesters' Faces -- Finding the Balance Between Reporting the Truth and Minimizing Harm

Sarah Volk

sv673116@ohio.edu

 

The year 2020 has been full of historical events, but the eruption of the Black Lives Matter protests, along with the COVID-19 pandemic, is one of the frontrunners. 

This year has also put journalism and company response under a microscope. When COVID-19 hit the United States in March, all eyes were glued to the TV and social media. 

When George Floyd, a 46 year-old Black man, was killed by police, coverage of the pandemic was forced to move aside to make room for Black Lives Matter protests. 

Journalists' ethical practices were put to the test, and a plethora of ethical questions were raised. A question challenging many news organizations is: Should we blur the faces of protesters?

The idea of blurring protesters' faces has been heavily criticized by many journalists; however, many argue that showing protesters' faces could potentially get them in trouble or put them in harm's way. 

Those who criticize blurring protesters' faces argue that altering photos in such away takes away from the reality of the photo. 

NPR's Public Editor, Kelly McBride, argues that "journalists' job is to convey reality." She added, "Blurring images is a form of photo manipulation that makes them less true, and is generally an unethical practice for documentary photography" (McBride, 2020).

The decision of whether or not to blur protesters' faces involves finding a balance between reporting the truth and minimizing harm. The recent Black Lives Matter protests have started blurring the line between these two values.

Picture source: Document Journal

 

Those who support the blurring of protesters' faces argue that protesters could be identified from the photo/video and then potentially harassed, fired from their job, arrested, etc., and blurring their faces would minimize any potential harm.

This is where the line between minimizing harm and reporting the truth becomes blurred.

According to Brent Lewis, a New York Times photo editor,  in a Document  article, "[Face blurring] seems to be coming from a subset of people on the internet and social media -- people who don't really understand journalism ethics -- and from those who don't understand the care with which photojournalists and editors approach touchy subjects like these protests."

Photojournalists from all over the United States are against the blurring of protesters' faces. 

Many argue that the issue shouldn't be as black and white as it seems to be. 

According to Tara Pixley, professor of visual journalism at LMU, the discussion "should be about our ethical, critical and thoughtful approach to photographing vulnerable populations given the context of overt and expansive state surveillance that is often followed up with targeted harassment and discriminatory practices at the local, state and federal level."

The discussion of whether or not blurring the faces of protesters is good a practice of journalism ethics should be more expansive and address the multitude of values it supports or doesn't support.