Journalistic ethics were again being questioned after a photojournalist was captured deliberately posing a girl for a photo in the aftermath of the Belgian terror attacks.
The video showing Khaled Al Sabbah, a 21-year old Palestinian journalist who lives in Brussels, sparked controversy when he was spotted in the background of a live Fox News telecast repositioning the girl who was laying flowers at a memorial to victims of the attacks.
In a Facebook post, later removed, Khaled apologised for staging the photo stating he was not working for a news agency at the time and the image was being taken purely for aesthetic reasons.
The image has raised questions about how routinely images in the media are staged. Photojournalist ethics, endorsed by media organisations, industry associations and major competitions, state that news photos cannot be posed.
"It’s one more example of a photographer doing something that destroys public trust in the media," said Michael Kamber, a former staff photographer at the New York Times and founder of the Bronx Documentary Center.
Al Sabbah initially posted the photograph on his instagram page, before removing it after receiving criticism.
Comments on social media have varied, with many declaring the practice is commonplace in a culture of increasing pressure on freelance photographers to deliver striking images.
"Today you have a freelancer, if he doesn’t come up with a spectacular photo, he’s not selling that photo, he might not get that day rate. There’s tremendous pressure on freelancers to up the ante constantly and I think that’s leading to more and more faked ones," said Kamber.