Publishing images of minors without their consent and that of their families is already very serious. Doing so with child victims re-victimizes them in a way that puts them in danger, even of the worst. That is not journalism. It is surrendering to sensationalism in order to raise audience numbers through scandal. We have never done it and never will in this feminist newspaper, and we look on in astonishment as so-called «serious» newspapers do it.
With the rise of artificial intelligence, blurring images of minors does not guarantee that they cannot be restored by anyone who knows how, and then distributed across different networks. Moreover, even when blurred, the images contain elements that make it possible to recognize the children in their surroundings. In any case, publishing them is a call to the worst audiences to search TikTok itself for those same images, or similar ones of other minors. There is no room here for calculating whether the terrible consequences this has for minors will or will not lead to complaints against the outlet or the journalist. All that matters is respecting the rights of minors and the ethics without which journalism loses its meaning.
Brave are those who uncover and report abuse of minors where democratic societies have decided this should be done: in the police, the public prosecutor’s office, the courts, and the institutions and organizations created for that purpose. Brave are those who take the risk of receiving isolating violence in doing so, without seeking anything in return. Most of these brave people never become known at all, because they have exposed and reported cases in ways that avoid re-victimizing the child or causing even worse harm. Calling «brave» those who put minors in serious danger fosters a climate that puts children at risk.
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