Nairobi has come under another terrorist attack that claimed over twenty one lives. As the siege was going on, thousands of kilometres away in London, Prime Minister Theresa May was fighting for her political life. That is where most media attention was until gunfire and explosions broke the silence in Kenya. The Kenyan drama shed light on the way western media shamelessly practices double standards when reporting tragedies. The New York Times came under fire for publishing graphic images of dead victims of the terror attacks slumped on restaurant tables. They had been cut down by the terrorists in the middle of their meal. The argument by most complainants was that kind of insensitive publication would not be condoned in the United States. With all the regular mass shootings no image of victims is ever published out of respect. It is not only Kenyans who are livid with kind of spectacle, but anyone of sound mind. The New York Times did more than just report an incident; it was in a way glorifying the success of the terror attack and fueling future attacks. Instead of the US paper doing the honourable thing and eat humble pie, it is busy trying to justify the unjustifiable. We are used to being lectured by such major news organisations that hold a claim of setting standards in media ethics. It is now time for them to be on the receiving end. The Brexit debate might be losing its appeal but that should not be reason to bring journalistic standards to that kind of low while Kenyans mourn their dead.
