Politics

#iftheygunnedmedown campaign tackles how the media portray black victims of shootings

August 11, 2014

You can always count on mainstream media to pick and choose what they think are the scariest pictures of you they can find, even if you’re the victim of the shooting. Remember how they portrayed Trayvon Martin as a thug, conveniently forgetting to show us regular pictures of him and focusing on his grill, hoodie, weed, etc.? More recently they did the same with Mike Brown, who was shot dead by the Ferguson, Missouri police. Fortunately, activists and every day people took to the Internet for a #IfTheyGunnedMeDown campaign. How would mainstream media portray you if you were shot?

“#iftheygunnedmedown which picture would they use?” – @Heartbreak_Rell on Twitter

“#IfTheyGunnedMeDown, and I was unarmed, what picture would the media use to create a racialized bias” – @LeftSentThis On Twitter

“What picture would they use #IfTheyGunnedMeDown? Note that I’m holding a simple airsoft gun.” – @PokemonyeWest on Twitter

“#IfTheyGunnedMeDown what picture would they use?” – @_TrillClinton on Twitter

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