JAW-DROPPING: Major news outlet editor reportedly tells media to bury iconic photo of Trump

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From Fox News: An unnamed photo editor at a major news outlet believes it is “dangerous” for the media to highlight the historic photo of former President Trump standing tall after the assassination attempt Saturday, calling it “free PR” for the Trump campaign, according to a report.

An Axios media trend assessment on Tuesday argued that the “overuse” of the iconic image can “pose risks,” citing unnamed photographers who reportedly told the outlet that promoting the viral photos could be a form of “photoganda” because the Trump campaign will use them to “further their agenda, despite the photographers’ intent of capturing a news event.”

The image captured Trump’s defiant reaction seconds after a bullet grazed his right ear, and he was pummeled to the ground at a rally on Saturday. The former president is seen raising a fist to the crowd of supporters as he was rushed off the stage with blood smeared across his face, Secret Service flanking him, an American flag flying above his head. Associated Press photographer Evan Vucci captured the image that immediately went viral and landed on newspaper front pages while dominating digital news sites and social media platforms across the world.

Axios published a report Monday and complained that all the media headlines looked the same, because most outlets used the same photo. Additionally, Axios made the jaw-dropping claim that the images would be propaganda for the Trump campaign, and would give Trump “free PR” coverage:

The overuse of the same photos, eyewitness videos and reporting from the ground can also pose risks.

Multiple photographers worried privately in conversations with Axios’ Aïda Amer that the viral images from the rally could turn into a kind of “photoganda,” with the Trump campaign using them to further their agenda despite the photographers’ intent of capturing a news event.

A photo editor and photographer from a major news outlet said the “amount that publications have been using Evan’s photo is kind of free PR for Trump in a way, and it’s dangerous for media organizations to keep sharing that photo despite how good it is.”

Conservative podcaster and author Matt Walsh wrote, “Trump will forever be defined by this photo. That’s what drives his enemies crazy. They’ve worked for years to define him in their terms. But this will be the picture in the history books 300 years from now. We’re all defined by moments, and this is Trump’s.”

The Trump team is already [rightly] using the photo. Trump shared a comparison of his photo, labeled, “Trump vs. Bullet,” along with a photo of Joe Biden falling on the Air Force One stairway, labeled, “Biden vs. Stairs.”

The photo is being widely shared on social media, with some very moving tributes.

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