Dead Iraqi Soldier, Ken Jarecke (photograph)
Artist: Ken Jarecke
Year: 1991
Date of Action: March 10, 1991
Region: North America
Location: Basra, Iraq
Subject: Violence
Medium: Journalism, Photography
Confronting Bodies: Associated Press
Description of Artwork: Photojournalist Ken Jarecke captured an image of the charred corpse of an Iraqi soldier trying to escape from a burned out vehicle in March 1991, during the first Gulf War conflict.
The Incident: When the image reached the New York offices of the Associated Press, the image was deemed too graphic for distribution. It was pulled from the wire.
Results of Incident: The image did not appear in mainstream United States media. Because it was censored by the Associated Press before distribution, it was not released to newspaper editors and individual papers were not given the opportunity to use their own discretion on whether or not to publish it. It was published only by the London Observer, where it generated considerable controversy.
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