To upload or not to upload: graphic images of the drug war

Earlier today I was sent an email with a video of two alleged members of some criminal group in Mexico being executed by members or another criminal group. The video is far too graphic to describe, but made its way very quickly through the digital channels. It's sufficient to say that the images were quite horrible. By the end of the day, even some of my European followers on Twitter told me they had already seen it.

It was probably the most horrible, graphic video of violence I have seen in my life. And many blogs and social media instantly diffused it through the Internet. And not just the regular ones: serious blogs such as Borderland Beat and Blog del Narco did so too. It made me wonder: what is the purpose of publishing these images? What's their journalistic value? Is it a good idea to publish them, or should the Internet community re-think doing so?

Snuff and War Porn

Some call it snuff films, others war porn, but whichever name you'd like to give it, footage of people actually dying of violence has been around for a while. Many horrible images from wars in countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan have been widely seen and documented, especially since social media and blogs have rooted firmly in society and mobile phones have the capability to shoot pictures and film in high quality and upload them easily to the Internet.

Only about ten years ago, a website like Rotten.com provided graphic pictures of accidents and victimes of violence without much context. The purpose was for the public to shiver at beholding horrifying images. A few years back, amateur pornography website nowthatsfuckedup.com (the website apparently doesn't exist anymore, it now links to the website of the sherrif of Polk County, Florida) started showing videos uploaded by U.S. soldiers in Iraq. These images gave a much more graphic angle to incidents happening in the war in that country.

Ever since Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, blogs and other social media gained momentum, the spreading around of graphic, often horrendous images of violence has become part of the digital lifestyle. The Internet has very few rules and regulations, no ethical code and is bacially a free-for-all communications jungle. The volume of photos and videos uploaded daily is of such a scale that it cannot be moderated. Add to that the relative anonimity of the Internet, and the result is a near unchecked publication of all kinds of images on a daily basis, with many hundreds of millions of users as a potential audience.

Prominent blogs

In the context of Mexico's struggle with organized crime, the phenomenon of graphic images of violence spread around on the internet and social media has become very common. Blogs such as Borderland Beat and Blog del Narco have gained prominence in recent years, due to their detailed description of events in the drug war (executions, law enforcement operations, et cetera). Both media often add extremely graphic images and videos of executions and victims of violence with serious articles (and sometimes on-the-spot reporting) on the goings-on in Mexico's battle against organized crime.

There is, of course, a huge difference between Rotten.com on the one hand and Borderland Beat and Blog del Narco on the other. The first never gave any context to its images and simply posted its content with the intention of provoking an emotional reaction in its audience. Borderland Beat and Spanish language Blog del Narco at least claim to strive to be serious news media. On its 'About'-page, Borderland Beat states that: 

'This blog is a reflection of the issues affected by crime and drugs along the border between Mexico and the U.S. It gives a perspective of issues related to the complicated issues of both neighboring countries and how the activities from one side impact the other. It is important for both sides of the border to understand how mayhem and ruthless violence from organized crime touches the people on the borderland and the misery it brings to every day social conditions we sometimes call civilization. Consider this a huge source of information related to crime on the borderland. Knowledge is power.'

Blog del Narco's editorial message is largely similar:

"Un factor clave para que naciera Blog del Narco, ha sido lo que han decidido ocultar diversos medios de comunicación: el terror que se sufre en el país. Nosotros damos a conocer los actos violentos que han hecho que la sociedad mexicana vive una realidad, que hasta hace poco tiempo se encontraba en sombras."

(Translation: "A key factor motivating the launch of Blog del Narco has been what various media have chosen to hide: the terror that the country suffers. We report violent acts have made the Mexican society's reality, which until recently was in shadows.")

Restraint

Here we see a fundamental difference in how these two media treat graphic content as opposed to tradional news media. The latter traditionally show a lot of restraint in showing graphic images of violence and bloodshed. For example, when Madrid was hit by terrorist attacks in 2004, in the Netherlands many news media published the same picture of the damages caused by the blasts. One particular picture showed a bloody stump right in front of the picture. Many media decided to erase the stump from the picture, or 'paint it grey' to avoid shocking their readers. One newspaper showed the original picture, which caused widespread criticism and a discussion over what media in the Netherlands should show or not.

Of course, journalistic ethics differ from country to country and from medium to medium. A sensationalist tabloid will show less restraint in showing graphic images than The New York Times, whereas print media are far more careful than any Internet-based medium. The dicussion between what the public should be exposed to basically started the moment news media were able to print images.

Purpose

The most important questions that should be asked when deciding whether to publish horrible imagery should be: 'Do these images have added value to what I publish? Is my journalistic content worth less if I do? Is it worth something to my audience?'

In the context of Mexico's drug war, the issue of publishing graphic images is a complicated one. Not only because of the vast amount of graphic content available for publication, but also because these images often have a purpose.

Take for example the notorious narcomantas, or narcobanners, which are basically painted or written pieces of cloth and cardboard criminal groups leave in public spaces, often accompanied by dead rival gangsters murdered and tortured. These banners and messages are directed towards rival gangs, law enforcement or simply the general public. A newspaper publishing pictures of a narcomanta obviously increases its diffusion and effectivity.

Instill fear

According to journalist Malcolm Beith, author of The Last Narco, a book on drug lord Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán, videos of executions uploaded to the internet have the exact same purpose. "The basic idea is to instill fear in rivals. Cut off a head, film it and upload it to Youtube or a blog, and suddenly your rival knows just how tough you are, how far you are willing to go", he says, "It's just like throwing up a gang sign in the street, but obviously a million times worse. In most kill-videos i've seen or read about, there is almost always a background voice talking about 'this is what happens to members of X gang'."

Beith finds the publication of such images problematic, he says. "The problem with posting videos like this on one's blog is that if you're not affiliated with a gang or cartel, you are in actual fact transmitting the killers' message for them. You're giving them a platform."

The situation in Mexico is even more complicated because of the surge in violence against journalists in recent years. According to Reporters without Borders, 80 journalists have been killed in Mexico since 2000, and as I write this article, another reporter was found murdered this weekend in Northern-Mexico. It is unclear how many of these murders are actually related to drug violence, as very few cases have been adequately investigated by the authorities. Yet is clear that Mexico is indeed one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists, even without mentioning the shockingly high number of death threats to and kidnappings of journalists.

Journalism is such a dangerous profession in some parts of the country, that many news media have stopped reporting on organized crime our of fear for the lives of their reportes. In cities such as Matamoros and Nuevo Laredo local media simply do not report on organized crime anymore. Mexicans therefore increasingly use the internet and social media as a source of information, as they largely circumvene the forced self-censorship many Mexican media.

And that's where media such as Borderland Beat and Blog del Narco enter the arena. These blogs claim to publish their information without the restraints and self-censorship normal media apply. Blog del Narco states that, even without being threatened, traditional media alter information and therefore do not inform the public adequately: "The media and government continue to say that the country does not matter, we will continue our work". On their mission statement they claim that they instead "make known what is happening objectively". Showing extremely graphic images is part of that strategy of 'informing objectively'.

Blood and gore

"One could argue – and some media outlets and reporters do – that to refrain from showing such images amounts to self-censorship. And in a way, it does," Malcolm Beith says, "But that's the whole role of the media – some images are not fit for public consumption, particularly on the Internet, which has few controls. A reputable media outlet doesn't reveal military positioning or strategy without authorization. Likewise, in my mind, it shouldn't publish images that can help a group of killers gain notoriety. Also, the job of the media outlet should be to inform readers, not shock them into submission with images of blood and gore."

Last year, when I visited Ciudad Juárez's municipal prison, I spoke to a member of the Aztecas gang. This gang is allegedly in league with La Línea, believed to be the armed branch of the Juárez Cartel. According to said gang member, graphic videos of executions are uploaded to the internet with the clear intention of blogs and social media to spread them around.

"You could certainly speculate that they do", Beith says, "but you could also argue that the higher ups probably frown on it.  I mean, if you want to do business quietly, do you really want some subordinate going around filming beheadings? It's like walking around with a big sign on your forehead saying "I am a narco-killer. Arrest me."

Broad discussion

When discussing this topic, a distinction should always be made between regular internet users and media such as Borderland Beat and Blog del Narco. The latter not only claim to be serious media (as opposed to regular internet users posting videos), they inevitably play an important role in the current media landscape of Mexico. Blog del Narco reportedly receives some 3 million pageviews per month. Such a huge audience, in conjunction with their intention to 'objectively inform the audience', implies that they are taken seriously enough have a responsibility towards that audience.

With that in mind: what is the actual added value of graphic videos of executions? Should these media be more selective in posting them? The Mexican government is already trying to come up with a general agreement with news media on how graphic violence should be covered. However, taking into account the nature of Internet-based publications, it remains to be seen if websites such as Borderland Beat or Blog del Narco would even consider sticking with such an agreement.

Discussions on the Mexican drug war, social media, blogs and journalism until now mostly focus on the way Internet-based media are taking the place of self-censored traditional news media in places where violence has interrupted the regular information flow. The issue of uncontrolled diffusion of graphic images, however, hasn't been a broadly discussed topic yet. It is time for such a broad discussion on the topic to take place.