A photograph depicting Hamas operatives parading a near-naked body of a German tourist through the streets of Gaza after the October 7, 2023 attack has stirred significant controversy after winning a prestigious photo of the year award.
A photograph depicting Hamas operatives parading a near-naked body of a German tourist through the streets of Gaza after the October 7, 2023 attack has stirred significant controversy after winning a prestigious photo of the year award.
The tourist, identified as 23-year-old Shani Louk, was discovered deceased several weeks following the attack. The unsettling image was among a collection of 20 photographs that contributed to the Associated Press securing first prize in one of the categories of the Pictures of the Year International awards earlier this month.
These awards are organized by the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute at the Missouri School of Journalism.
The news rapidly spread across social media platforms, triggering a wave of criticism regarding the use of Louk's image, described as an "outrageous desecration of Jewish life."
Users expressed strong disapproval, labeling it as "wrong and sick" and marking it as a dark day for journalism. Some users criticized the award organizers, accusing them of prioritizing sensationalism over decency.
"This is just wrong and sick," one user commented on X. "Today marks a dark day for journalism and the world as a whole," said another.
"So terror porn and necrophilia are now the criteria for winning the Reynolds Journalism Institute's "Photo of the Year" award," a third user commented.
The award organizers initially shared the unblurred image of Louk's body on their Instagram page but later deleted it due to the backlash.
Here's a look at some of the reactions:
This is how we will remember Shani Louk!
Fuck and their pic.twitter.com/PW5aTKQs5P
The person who took this photo was part of the jihadist gang who murdered, tortured and raped civilians.
The family didn’t want her remembered like this. This award celebrates her continued desecration. Her name was Shani Louk pic.twitter.com/n6epjfE6lN
This is how Shani Louk's family asked for her to be remembered. Smiling and alive.
The biggest photojournalism competition in the world decided to trample on the family's wishes in favor of giving a photo of Shani's mutilated body a prestigious award. She wasn't even named in… pic.twitter.com/y4L4R35bdA
I am DISGUSTED. SHOCKED and ENRAGED that this image - of a murdered Shani Louk z"l from October 7th was given picture of the year!!. You don't even say her name?? You don't even say that she was slaughtered by terrorists from Gaza? This is the value of Israeli women to you??… pic.twitter.com/QF67g6l3ke
— Shoshanna Keats Jaskoll (@skjask)I will not be sharing the graphic picture of Shani Louk's body that won the Associated Press an award. It disrespects the wishes of her mother who only wanted us to share photos of Shani when she was alive.
That said, fuck the AP and their Hamas associated photojournalist.
Associated Press photographer who participated in the October 7th attack on Israel and took photo of the mutilated body of Shani Louk wins prestigious journalism award.
Hamas journalist Ali Mahmud's won the RJI Awards ‘Team Picture of the Year’ for his picture of the… pic.twitter.com/uyfFxf4mw9
This photo captures Hamas terrorists desecrating the body of Shani Louk, may her soul rest in peace. Yet the news agency proudly received an award for it. Their continued pride in their photographers' "work" and involvement in the atrocities is shameful. pic.twitter.com/WYet09sST9
— Danny Danon 🇮🇱 דני דנון (@dannydanon)Congratulations to for winning a Pictures of the Year award. How does it feel to do so on the back of Palestinian photojournalists who infiltrated Israel on Oct. 7 and took photos like the one below of Shani Louk's dead body in a Hamas pickup?
Was bothered about that… pic.twitter.com/MSasc9yzVp
The Associated Press Hamas photographer who took a picture of the body of Shani Louk being paraded by terrorists, won a prestigious photography award.
Photographers working for AP, CNN, NYT, and Reuters accompanied Hamas terrorists into Israel on 10/7 and knew about the attack. pic.twitter.com/Z9AYtHiCpN
This is absolutely disgusting and unacceptable.
The Gazan photographers that were participating and celebrating by taking photos of Shani Louk in the back of this truck have been lauded and celebrated with an award.
How is this allowed to happen? They were there with Hamas… pic.twitter.com/KLaUc7HDwv
Louk was taken hostage during the Supernova music festival near the Gaza border, which became a target of a surprise Hamas attack.
Shani Louk swiftly became a symbol of the conflict as disturbing images of her lifeless body on a pickup truck circulated widely on social media. A rabbi, who provided insights into her family's ordeal, revealed that the tattoo artist had been subjected to torture and other heinous acts before her tragic demise.
With dual German and Israeli citizenship, Shani Louk resided in Israel but had roots in Portland, Oregon. Her early years were spent in the city, where she attended kindergarten at the Jewish Portland Academy.