The recent deadly Israeli strike on a World Central Kitchen (WCK) convoy has once again highlighted the way Western media covers Israel’s actions in Gaza, especially in terms of visual representation.
Award-winning veteran photojournalist Patrick Witty has criticized the U.S. mainstream media for their coverage of Monday’s attack, suggesting that they failed to convey its devastating human toll.
Witty specifically mentioned the photos taken by Anadolu Agency (AA) photographer Ali Jadallah, which showed the bodies of WCK workers killed in the attack.
He expressed shock that these photos were not prominently featured by major U.S. media outlets like The New York Times and The Washington Post.
The attack, which occurred on April 1, resulted in the deaths of seven aid workers, including three British nationals, an Australian, a Polish national, a U.S.-Canadian dual citizen and a Palestinian.
"I was shocked none of Ali’s photos, or any others that showed the victims, were being used by The New York Times or The Washington Post,” he told AA.
"Instead, the Times used a photo of one of the destroyed vehicles in the convoy. And not even the most compelling version of that scene that shows the World Central Kitchen logo with a hole in the roof.
"Why is this? I don’t know for sure. Perhaps the photo editor pulled the first picture they found and didn’t bother to look further? Or perhaps they were reluctant to publish identifiable photos of the victims? Or perhaps Ali’s photo of the two victims was too gory?”
Witty, who was with NYT as picture editor from 2004 to 2010, criticized the paper’s coverage of the attack on the WCK convoy as "spineless.”
"There were no photos from the attack ... only an enormous five-column photo of bullet-ridden rubble that was taken days earlier on an IDF-led tour for journalists,” he said.
As for The Washington Post, Witty pointed out that the publication only used a photo of the Palestinian volunteer, rather than a "white Westerner.”
When it comes to Israel’s devastating attacks on Gaza, he asserted that Western media has been using photos that "depict a sanitized version of the war.”
"The New York Times Opinion section even had the audacity to publish an entire article about a photo that they refused to show in its entirety,” said Witty.
Witty said he encountered this problem frequently with NYT, especially during Israel’s 2008 war on Gaza.
He said there was a stream of highly graphic photos daily at that time, many of which were deemed "too bloody” for publication.
"There’s a fine line between illustrating an important story and sensationalizing violence or exploiting the victims. But the human cost, particularly civilian casualties, must be seen,” he said.
"Photos of a burnt-out vehicle or smoke rising in the distance or anonymous victims of war crimes in body bags are instantly forgotten.”
