Was Twitter right to remove the beheading Video of James Foley?
When footage of the ISIS beheading of American journalist, James Foley, was released back in 2014, a public outcry of opposing opinions arose. After Twitter shut down accounts that contained photos or videos of the beheading, many viewed this decision to take away their ‘right to know’ whereas others strongly agreed with Twitter’s decision.
Twitter’s decision to remove footage of the beheading came after Foley’s family requested the social media platform to take the images and videos down. Foley’s family was able to achieve this because Twitter itself has a policy that allows authorized family members to fill out a form requesting the removal of footage of a deceased person as well as shutting down his or her Twitter account. In my opinion, such a request from a grieving family should be enough for any one person to end this ‘contraversy’ concerning whether or not they should have access to such graphic and horrendous images of a man who died bravely doing his job.
Just like many journalists before him, Foley put his life on the line to gather information and report on the war in Syria so that people all over the world can learn about what is happening beyond their small communities.
Put in short: Foley died protecting your ‘right to know’.
Despite the fact that there are so many stories of brutality across the globe, ISIS is still one of the most ‘popular’ stories to report on. ISIS proudly takes up its label as a terrorist group and works towards instilling terror even in the homes of those that are thousands of miles away. The only way ISIS’s story of terror can spread so far is through the media. By spreading such horrific images and videos of ISIS beheading journalists such as James Foley, we are basically being accomplices to the crime. The reason why ISIS would release such footage of a beheading is because they know the immense power that comes from spreading fear and terror from the screen right inside your home. So why would we help keep the terror in terrorism?
When troubled teens in Europe or the United States are exposed to such footage, they become easy targets to be recruited as ISIS fighters. When a young adult living in a quiet rural area far away from any scandalous events is exposed to the great amount of attention these images gather, he or she might even be the next suicide bomber.
Yes, the world does have a right to know what is happening in war torn countries like Syria, but the excessive exposure of such horrific acts will do more harm than good. ISIS’s survival relies on always getting new recruits and spreading such footage over social media is a step towards helping them survive.
The death of James Foley is a tragic and heartbreaking story, but can’t our heart break without seeing images of his gruesome murder? Is it too hard for us to respect his family’s wishes and remember him for his work and bravery?
References
Ingram , M. (2014, August 20). Should Twitter and YouTube remove images of James Foley’s beheading, or do we have the right to see them? Retrieved from https://gigaom.com/2014/08/20/should-twitter-and-youtube-remove-images-of-james-foleys-beheading-or-do-we-have-a-right-to-see-them/
Koh, Y. (2014, August 19). Twitter to Remove Images of the Deceased Upon Families’ Request. Retrieved from https://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2014/08/19/twitter-to-remove-images-of-the-deceased-upon-families-request/?mod=e2tw
Walsh, M., Ford, B., & Mcshane, L. (2014, August 20). Parents of James Foley, who was beheaded by an ISIS member, recall his passion for journalism, call him ‘martyr for freedom’. Retrieved from http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/parents-james-foley-call-martyr-freedom-article-1.1911277
