By: Zaid Malik
The recent tragic bus accident in Handwara, Kashmir, has left a trail of sorrow and destruction in its wake. A bus carrying college students on a picnic outing overturned, killing two young women, Asiya Rashid and Mymoona Ali, and injuring 23 others.
The accident has caused shockwaves in the community, and the reaction of some social media “reporters” and content creators has been nothing short of horrific.After the tragedy, some Facebook and YouTube pages invaded the homes of the bereaved families, not to provide sympathy or cover the story in a dignified way, but to reap emotion and gain views.
One such “reporter” entered the home of the late Mymoona Ali as her body arrived, accompanied by weeping women, and went live on social media. “Look, everyone, the body has arrived,” he announced to no one in particular, making heartbreak a televised event.The camera did not blink as the old relative of the victim fainted in tears, unable to say a word.
The comment section of that livestream was full of requests to end the broadcast, with one viewer saying, “This is not journalism. This is exploitation.” Another viewer said, “How can they be so heartless? Don’t they have any empathy?”In the accident location, a similar event took place. A young girl drenched in blood but yet alive was witnessed gasping for air, with one individual giving her water and another pointing a camera at her, opting to capture the moment on film instead of assisting. What have we become? How did we forget that the primary responsibility of a journalist is not only to report but to be human?
The moral breakdown that is on view in Handwara is no one-off. It is one manifestation of a spreading culture online, where death is turned into content and mourning into a marketing tool.
These so-called “reporters” are not constrained by editorial norms, journalistic ethics, or simple humanity. Theirs is the currency of views, and their technique is invasion.Journalism has always trod a thin line between witnessing and exploitation. But the line has never been crossed so insouciantly. Where is the compassion? Where is self-control?
In times of tragedy, good journalism requires silence where it is called for, distance where distance is needed, and most of all, dignity for the dead and the bereaved.Recording a person’s dying breath, a mother’s cries, or a grandmother’s collapse is not documentation—it’s desecration. Let us recall: behind every viral video is a human narrative. Behind every share is a broken family. And behind every moral failure is a profession that stands to lose its soul.
As we ponder the Handwara tragedy, let us also ponder the world of journalism today. Let us recall the values of empathy, restraint, and dignity in reporting. Let us aim to do better, to be more human, and to respect the humanity of the people we report about. For it is not ultimately about the opinions or the hits, but about the stories that we tell and the lives we touch.
But most disturbing is that these “reporters” not only lack sympathy for the agony of the people but also have no knowledge of the Islamic principles that discourage the exhibition of the dead body, particularly that of women. Islam is well-defined on this point, and it is prohibited to expose the body of a deceased person, particularly a woman, in public.
Such “reporters” not only breached the ethics of journalism but are also ignoring the Islamic ideals that are integral to our way of life.We should not let these “reporters” be allowed to go on with their insensitive and exploitative ways.
We must not let them profit at the expense of other people’s suffering and pain. We should condemn their unethical practices and insist that they treat the dead and the bereaved with dignity.Let us stand together to denounce this practice and to call for a more empathetic and respectful way of doing journalism. Let us not forget that behind each story, there is a human, and behind each click, there is a broken family.
Let us do better, be more human, and respect the humanity of those to whom we report.We should not let the dead and the bereaved be exploited. We should stand against the insensitive actions of these “reporters” and ask them to show respect for the dead and the bereaved. Let us come together to denounce this action and to ask for a more respectful and humane approach to journalism.
The writer is a Kashmir-based independent journalist, and social commentator. He tweets as _zaidmalik178.
