[protected-iframe id=”5bd57f12bf34ae1674fc7440dfb8967d-60970621-14503102″ info=”https://www.whipclip.com/embed/ext23″ width=”560″ height=”315″ frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen=””]
This week’s Istanbul airport explosions left 40 people dead and thrice that many injured. Eyewitness stories have revealed an absolute horror, and the event received wall-to-wall coverage on cable news, which is the norm for these regular attacks all over Europe, including Paris and Brussels. Yet the media coverage differs somewhat because Turkish officials immediately (instead of waiting for hours) declared these to be terrorist attacks. And the airport recovered surveillance footage that shows an attacker being shot by police before he detonated his explosive device. This clip has played all over the internet and is already burned into many people’s psyches.
Stephen Colbert took a moment during Wednesday’s episode of The Late Show to address the attacks. He expressed empathy for the victims and families and then shifted towards calling out the media:
“And just an aside, I would like to say something to all the news organizations out there. Is it really necessary to show us photographs or rolling video of a terrorist exploding? That really seems like advertising for someone’s cause in a way that they may like. I don’t think we need to see that.”
Many agree with Colbert in that it’s completely unnecessary to air such footage, but for various reasons, some people will still watch on a repeated basis. Colbert feels that the very act of replaying this video glorifies the terrorists and could be an inadvertent recruitment tool. CNN updated the situation Thursday morning with Turkish authorities’ belief that ISIS leaders were instrumental in planning this act of terrorism, so Colbert’s concern is certainly a valid one.