Journalists taking dead people’s photos from social media without permission inflames the wound of powerlessness

‘As a former journalist myself, I recognised the personal (and editorial) pressure to chase down the person, get the picture and secure the interview.’ Photograph: Darren Pateman/AAP

When I first saw the photos of people who died in the Singleton bus crash, I felt the weight of horror that engulfed the news. In those images, I saw youth, happiness, community and love. They helped me absorb the enormity of the event so much deeper than the fact that “10 people died”.

But when I heard that some of those photographs were downloaded, without permission, from the victims’ social media pages, a new feeling emerged: dejection.