Photo censorship is a sensitive subject. Many people have different views on what should and should not be shown in newspapers and online. There have been many instances in which the public as well as the peers of those being photographed have been disturbed with what news industries have put out for the public eye to see at their breakfast table. This was most definitely the case when the 7.0 magnitude hit Haiti in January of 2010.
As soon as this natural disaster struck the small nation, photojournalists swarmed the island to capture the tragedy through the scopes of their lenses. Many graphic photos of dead, nude bodies where taken and published for the world to see. Photojournalist’s believed that there was no way to sugarcoat the disaster and that it must be shown to the public as it is in actuality to those suffering day in and day out through the horror. The criticism hit hard after some news papers published these graphic photos, but surprisingly, not everything was negative feedback. There were some who thought the images were inappropriate and far too graphic to publish, while others believed the images helped to show the uncensored, real pain and suffering the people of Haiti were going through. Of everyone who responded to the images, the Haitians gave the most negative feedback. They were sickened with seeing photos of their friends and family’s corpses laying in the streets. As if they did not have enough to deal with in their everyday lives, they had to watch the horror spread across the world through the means of a photograph.
Though there are many different views when it comes to this subject, I believe censorship should not be too strict when it comes to natural disasters in news. It is important, in my eyes, to accurately depict what those who are suffering are going through; every natural disaster is a tragedy on one level or the next, and this should not be wrongly illustrated. On the other hand, I do not think it is necessary to show nudity and gory photos on the front page of newspapers for all to see. There should be an online article in which such photos can be accessed if the reader wishes to do so.