It’s a photo that appeared around the world. A bloodied Donald Trump, his fist raised, as Secret Service officers rush the former president from a stage.
Taken by Associated Press journalist Evan Vucci, the image captures the immediate aftermath of the attempted assassination of Trump at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday.
Some U.S. media outlets have described the images from that day as iconic. Some say they have the potential to alter the course of the presidential election; others have commented on the enduring legacy of still photography in the age of video.
But ethics experts are watching to see how — in a polarized time — media and others use the coverage of the attack.
Ron Burnett, former president of the Emily Carr University of Art and Design in Canada and an expert on images, said he believes photography can have a powerful impact.
“The iconic effects of a photograph are not to be underestimated at all, actually, because truth does not stand up to icons. Icons actually always are of greater effect than truth, which is a really scary thought, but which is true,” he told VOA.
He added that imagery of the attempted assassination reinforces the Trump campaign narrative.
“The photo fits very heavily with the kind of way in which he’s approached every stage of this, let’s call it, battle, because he sees it as a battle. The photo suggests, among many different things, that he’s in a war and already in constant danger,” said Burnett, who is based in Vancouver.
Subramaniam Vincent, the director of Santa Clara University’s journalism and media ethics center, said the portrayal of the moment will play into the political discourse.
“So, the real ethics of it, I think, comes in, in interpreting where the picture is, what it stands for in the narrative about American culture, politics, guns, violence,” he told VOA.
For Vucci, capturing the shooting and aftermath was a priority. “I knew that this was a moment in American history that had to be documented,” he said. “I mean, it’s our job as journalists to do this work.”
As the news media work to verify what happened at the rally, on social media, mis- and disinformation are flourishing.
Among conspiracy theories being shared are claims that falsely say political parties on either side are responsible. Journalists are working to set the record straight.
“There’s no evidence for either of these conspiracy theories, but they reflect the kind of claims that are spreading in this very polarized emotional climate in the immediate aftermath of the assassination attempt,” David Klepper, a reporter for the AP, was cited as saying.
Two days after the attack, Trump was back on stage, this time for the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Data from the cyber analysts PeakMetrics shows that in the hours after the attack, social media mentions of him are increasing, says the AP.
While the majority of posts analyzed by the company expressed sympathy, PeakMetrics found others that sought to seed conspiracy theories or spread false or misleading claims.
