By: Jerome Auza
The popularity of social media sites like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter makes an exciting platform for journalists and bloggers to quickly share stories and newsworthy events. The thrill of getting a story to go viral, however, sometimes blurs the line between proper reporting and disrespectful and tasteless posts.
Last week was a good example of how one can forget that social network sites like Facebook are open to the public and when a user opens his Facebook account, it is likely that other family members may be around to view the screen. Imagine my shock when several pictures of dead or dying people with blood and brain splattered on the ground showed up on my timeline. News of terrorism in the Middle East as well as local news on the campaign against the drug trade abound on the social media.
My kids aged 2, 5 and 6 were expecting to see photos of their parents enjoying a short vacation. I had told them that I uploaded some pictures of their Daddy and Mommy when we went to Cebu. I mumbled an excuse as I hid the blood splattered posts from my timeline.
Immediate reporting is one thing and it is good so that we are aware of what’s happening in the society. We should draw a clear, thick line though of how much do we show to the public. This is because we have little control of who can see our social media posts. We can still report the whole truth without being gross.
I think it is sufficient to say in words that the suspect was fatally wounded on the head as policemen gunned him down while attempting to flee after firing at and wounding some police officers. One does not have to show a picture of a barely recognizable human head with bits of brain on the side and bright red blood all over the place. As if the gross pictures were not enough, someone posted a video of the same bloody image, making it at least ten times more gross. Terrorists in the Middle East post images and videos of beheaded people and these appear on your Facebook timelines when shared by someone close enough to your network of friends.
Being a blogger myself, I thought that I should read on the code of ethics covering journalists. I am, in a way, a journalist, for about an hour or so a week. The best one I found is the Code of Professional and Ethical Conduct of the Philippine Press Institute. I think one doesn’t need to be a member of this organization to follow this code. A journalist, blogger or even just a normal social media user trying to share something newsworthy and publicly visible should follow it.
One paragraph strikes me as very relevant to the matter last week: “We shall avoid at all times language, photographs, visuals and graphics that are racist, sexist, insensitive and disrespectful of men, women and children; the religious denominations, cultural communities, and gender and political preferences.”
Even if the victim was a known criminal, he still deserves the respect we give to the dead. If not him, then at least his family and friends are entitled to it. Just imagine if you had an accident and your head gets severely deformed and injured beyond recognition. As your soul leaves your body, you see this journalist taking close up photos of your head, seemingly trying to focus on an eyeball that almost popped out. Unfortunately there’s nothing you can do at that point. If that journalist doesn’t follow any code of ethics then your bloody picture would likely end up on Facebook. All your friends and relatives will know about your demise in the most inappropriate manner. Add to that some grey matter providing contrast to the bright red color on the background. Ewwww.
Let us be respectful of the dead, no matter how allegedly “bad” they had been when they were alive. Let us be mindful that not everyone enjoys seeing full color pictures of people killed or wounded in an accident or shootout and refrain from posting such pictures in public. Let us be aware that kids and minors may be viewing their parents’ (and even their own) timelines and that they should not be exposed to shocking and violent images.
We should consider the audience of the posts we make and share. Let us not add to the impropriety that already exists online.
