Autum Meyers
autummeyers33@gmail.com
Everyone knows that manipulated visuals such as deepfakes are highly unethical and deceptive to the public. Everyone also knows that tools like photoshop can be misleading and can cause viewers to see our imperfect world through a perfectly edited lens. For the most part, we as a society agree that these tools can be unethical, and we are taught to be wary of visuals in our media because of them. Even journalists are taught how to carefully report on and be wary of manipulated content so that it does not deceive anyone any further.
However, it can be harder to figure out what kind of images are ethical or unethical when it comes to graphic imagery. Journalists struggle to find a balance between their moral obligations to the public at large and their obligations to the people being photographed in these moments of great sadness.
Many people argue that journalists have an obligation to share information and make an impact on people by showing them what is really happening in the world; they feel that the only way to properly do that is by sharing graphic visuals. Others argue that these graphic pictures are too invasive of the people being photographed and the people who are close to them. Who would want their loved one's final moments to be captured on camera and uploaded for everyone in the world to see?
As described in the article "How Newsrooms Handle Graphic Images of Violence" sharing graphic content truly is an ethical dilemma of violation versus validation. Are we violating these people's privacy and personal sufferings or are we validating their experiences and shedding light on the wrongness within our society so that we can learn and grow in the future?
https://niemanreports.org/articles/how-newsrooms-handle-graphic-images-of-violence/
For me personally, I don't have an answer. I can see both sides too clearly.
Take the picture from 9/11 of the Falling Man. I learned at a very young age that during 9/11 many people jumped out of the buildings to try and escape the fire, and fell to their deaths. I always thought this fact was sad, but it wasn't until I saw the picture of the Falling Man that it really hit me how tragic this day was for our country. The picture of the Falling Man had an impact on me that a fact from a textbook could never have. I truly believe that graphic pictures make us think deeply about our world and what we can do to make it better, and to me that is ethical.
On the other hand, I also look at the picture of the Falling Man and know that this man has a family. A family that will forever be traumatized by this day and the loss of him. This picture feels to me like an invasion of not only the Falling Man's privacy, but of his family's privacy because the whole world is invading and commenting on their personal tragedy. This picture is almost too personal for the world to tear it apart with its words, and because of that, it could also be seen as unethical.
Overall, I honestly don't know whether graphic content is ethical or unethical. Graphic content affects people in a way that words by themselves cannot, and it can bring about a lot of positive, ethical change. However, graphic content can pry into people's personal lives and share a part of their struggle that they do not wish to be shared, which can have negative, unethical repercussions. I hope that moving into the future we as journalists can find a way to perfect this balance so that we are doing the most good for the world.
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