They will not henceforth publish names too of those responsible for violent attacks.
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Speaking to Le Monde newspaper, Valls said that France needs to re-think its relationship with Islam.
People boo French prime minister Manuel Valls, center, and Health Minister Marisol Touraine, left, after a minute of silence on the famed Promenade des Anglais in Nice, southern France. Radio station Europe 1 will stop publishing names and photographs of terrorism suspects entirely.
The newspaper Le Monde set off the trend by announcing in an editorial after the Bastille Day attack in Nice it would no longer run photos of terrorists, except for mug shots.
“It will quickly be occupied by conspiracy theorists and Islamic State and their unsafe communications”, he said, suggesting that more people could be driven directly to online propaganda and arguing that few extremists read the “mainstream media”.
Anti-extremism experts and academics working on the effects of media coverage on terrorism welcomed the self-imposed bans on Thursday. But while some journalists, such as CNN’s Anderson Cooper, have vowed to refrain from using the names of killers whenever possible, media experts are divided on whether no-name or no-photo policies could – and should – be widely implemented.
“At last. A bit of sense”.
Others, such as investigative reporter Mark Follman, say that while “a blanket ban isn’t realistic or appropriate”, media outlets can make effective adjustments in the way they cover mass shootings without omitting the identity of the perpetrators entirely. Didier also launched an online petition that has gathered upwards of 105,000 signatures so far.
“I can understand why a French newspaper wouldn’t want to put a great big picture of this frightful person who’s done such murderous things on its front page”, he said. “They leave clues before their death and fantasise about worldwide recognition”.
In the United States, the media usually work as mouthpieces for the very politicians who like to whitewash terror attacks. “Publishing photos of the terrorists is not the same as glorifying them”, said deputy director Johan Hufnagel. “There is not quite the same impetus as in France right now because in the case of Britain it does not feel so under attack”.
However, he would not fall into blaming the judges for the terrorist act, Valls said, explaining that every court decision is of incredibly complex factors.
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“While the people who do this are not likely to be influenced by mainstream media, given how decentralised IS is, the argument over the copycat element can not be disregarded”, he added. “First we must crush the external enemy”.
