Espen Egil Hansen says he is concerned 'world's most important medium is limiting freedom rather than trying to extend it'
The iconic 1972 image from the Vietnam warAP Photo/Nick Ut, File
Mark Zuckerberg has been accused of “abusing his power” after Facebook deleted an iconic image of the “napalm girl” from the Vietnam war under nudity guidelines.
A few weeks ago, the Norwegian writer Tom Egeland shared the image alongside several other war images on Facebook. The image was then removed and then his criticism of the company’s decision allegedly left him being barred from temporarily banned from the social networking site.
When Norway’s largest daily newspaper, Aftenposten, reported this and again shared the iconic image, they received an email from Facebook demanding it to be taken down or pixelised on the grounds of its nudity guidelines: “Any photographs of people displaying fully nude genitalia or buttocks, or fully nude female breasts, will be removed,” the email said. Before Aftenposten could respond, they claim the article had been removed.
The 1972 image of nine-year-old Kim Phuc running down the street without any clothes after sustaining severe burns in the south Vietnamese napalm attack is one of the serving legacies of the horrors of the Vietnam war. The photographer Nick Ut won the prestigious Pulitzer prize for the image in 1973.
Napalm victim in iconic photo receives medical treatment - in pictures
Aftenposten’s editor-in-chief Espen Egil Hansen has now written a front-page open letter to Zuckerberg where he explains his concern his room for “editorial responsibility” is being restricted by the company and hit out at the company for failing to distinguish between child abuse images and “famous war photographs”.
“I am upset, disappointed – well, in fact, even afraid – of what you are about to do to a mainstay of our democratic society.
Girl in Vietnam napalm photo receives medical treatment for burns
“[…[ Even though I am editor-in-chief of Norway’s largest newspaper, I have to realise that you are restricting my room for exercising my editorial responsibility. This is what you and your subordinates are doing in this case.
“I think you are abusing your power, and I find it hard to believe that you have thought it through thoroughly,” he wrote.
Mr Hansen writes it is the job of the press to report and share unpleasant images which reflect the horrors of war and said newspapers have a right to consider publication of every article which “should not be undermined by algorithms encoded in your office in California”.
Referring to Zuckerberg as “the world’s most powerful editor”, Mr Hansen also accused the company of “censoring criticism” after their decision to ban Mr Egeland’s profile.
He concludes by explaining he has written the letter “because I am worried that the world’s most important medium is limiting freedom instead of trying to extend it and that this occasionally happens in an authoritarian way”.
A representative for Facebook told the Independent: "While we recognize that this photo is iconic, it’s difficult to create a distinction between allowing a photograph of a nude child in one instance and not others. We try to find the right balance between enabling people to express themselves while maintaining a safe and respectful experience for our global community. Our solutions won’t always be perfect, but we will continue to try to improve our policies and the ways in which we apply them.”
A representative for Zuckerberg did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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