ABSTRACT

This case study will review the ethical guidelines and regulations involved with journalists reporting during an event and publishing photos on social media with editorialized captions. On October 9, 2020, it became publicly known that the FBI had apprehended several members of the Michigan Militia “Wolverine Watchmen” for conspiring to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. As news of this conspiracy and the apprehension of these individuals spread throughout the country, journalists worked to corroborate and expand the reporting offered regarding who these individuals were, what their goals were, and how they initiated this plan in the first place. One journalist and Twitter user, Walker Bragman, a Juris Doctorate with a number of notable journalistic contributions to publications including Paste Magazine, The Intercept, HuffPost, The Independent, Salon, Truthout, and The Hill, posted photos of one of these individuals homes with a caption regarding the socioeconomic status of these individuals and its relation to their radicalization. This study will utilize the TARES to analyze whether Bragman approached this scenario ethically and presented this photo in a way that is truthful, authentic, respectful, equitable, and socially responsible. In addition, this study will employ John Stuart Mill’s principle of utilitarianism. The goal of this case study is to reach a conclusion on the ethical standards for journalists posting news to social media by answering these three questions:

1. What kind of caption should Bragman have provided in his tweet?

2. Is there a place for a journalist to offer their personal opinion on a news photograph on social media?

3. Should the ethical requirements for publishing a news story in a newspaper or magazine be the same when publishing content on social media?