Summary:
In September 2016, Facebook received backlash when a Norwegian newspaper published an open letter to Facebook against its decision to ban "NapalmGirl", a Pulitzer Prize winning documentary photograph from the Vietnam War made by Nick Ut. The platform has a policy of removing photos which they believe violate the terms and conditions of the website.
Allegations:
- In the open letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, the editor of Norway's largest newspaper accused Zuckerberg of undermining the right and duty of free media to consider publication in every single case. He said that "This right and duty, which all editors in the world have, should not be undermined by algorithms encoded in your office in California."
- Erna Solberg, the prime minister of Norway was amongst those who published the famous Vietnam picture of Nick Ut. Her post was censored, in the same way as many Norwegians as well as Norway's biggest paper Aftenposten had been censored. In a statement to Aftenposten she said, "This picture is part of the world history. Facebook is taking a wrong step when they censor images like these. It works to curb the freedom of speech."
Defence:
- An unnamed Facebook spokesperson defended Facebook's censorship of the image as : "While we recognise 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."
- As a reaction to the letter, Facebook reconsidered its opinion on the picture and republished it saying it recognised "the history and global importance of this image in documenting a particular moment in time."