Can you tell why Twitter is furious with this NBC News tweet about the murder of Samuel DuBose?
BREAKING: University of Cincinnati cop indicted for murder in death of unarmed motorist http://t.co/OKAWzg4s2f pic.twitter.com/sFCinPnGRK
— NBC News (@NBCNews) July 29, 2015
The network earned a wave of criticism for tweeting an outdated mugshot of DuBose alongside with a smiling photo of his killer, University of Cincinnati police officer Ray Tensing, who pled not guilty on murder charges Friday. The juxtaposition is startling to say the least.
Tensing pulled over 43-year-old DuBose on July 19 for driving without a front license plate. After a short scuffle, during which DuBose remained behind the wheel, Tensing shot him in the head, killing him instantly. Body-cam footage captured the entire incident, and Tensing was quickly indicted for murder.
Twitter users admonished NBC for the tweet above, which they claim illustrated the network’s bias.
Why are you using a mugshot of the victim, but not the mugshot of the MURDERER? @NBCNews #SamDubose http://t.co/Wxtt4nGbQt
— OOCHIE WALLY (@emthegreatest) July 29, 2015
https://twitter.com/iZaynab/status/626468157834686464
https://twitter.com/GinoTheGhost/status/626466523591241728
Will you post Tensing's mugshot, too? @NBCNews
— Nani ✨🏹✨ FernandaMeier.com (@lenubienne) July 29, 2015
Hey @NBCNews, I went ahead and fixed this one for you. Do better. #SamDubose pic.twitter.com/vGot1pVxqW
— Rigel Robinson (@RigelRobinson) July 29, 2015
https://twitter.com/ammamarfo/status/626496299693678592
The backlash to NBC’s presentation of alleged murderer and victim recalls the #iftheygunnedmedown hashtag, which trended last year after the shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. That hashtag saw people of color offer the media options for representing them if they were killed by law enforcement: flattering, pleasant photos contrasted with ones suggesting rough, criminal behavior.
#IfTheyGunnedMeDown which pic would they use pic.twitter.com/POAvUPgzDX
— #AlmostHealed (@bubbawaytoolive) August 10, 2014
Image choices in stories with strong racial dimensions extend to fluffier publications, too. Entertainment Weekly found itself apologizing for its choice of photos in a tweet about the dispute between Taylor Swift and Nicki Minaj. That tweet has since been deleted, but it was, of course, screenshotted for posterity.
Photo via NBC News/Twitter