Country’s best-selling newspaper says ‘the world must see the truth’ after readers voiced concern over its choice of images of the dead Syrian refugee

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

Germany’s best-selling newspaper has removed all pictures from its print edition and website in response to complaints about its decision to publish images of the three-year-old Syrian refugee who drowned trying to reach Greece.

A statement from Bild says the photo of Alan Kurdi, who died last week along with his mother and five year old brother, “caused dismay and compassion” and “rattled a million people awake”.

It likened the images of the boy, who was initially named by Turkish officials as Aylan, to the famous photo of a Vietnamese girl running from a napalm strike during the Vietnam war, adding: “The world must see the truth in order to change.”

Will the image of a lifeless boy on a beach change the refugee debate? Read more

Kai Diekmann (@KaiDiekmann) Warum @BILD heute keine Bilder zeigt! http://t.co/qWQ9Z1OkbR pic.twitter.com/SXY9DoXgj2

The decision to remove pictures in print and online comes less than a week after the newspaper dedicated its whole back page to the distressing image of Alan lying face down on the beach in Bodrum, surrounded by a black background and a plea for action from Europe.

Nick Sutton (@suttonnick) This is what the text under the photo says in English #tomorrowspaperstoday #bbcpapers via @tanit pic.twitter.com/sLk4ePEiB0

The images of Alan have helped shift debate across Europe and contributed to a public outcry over the plight of refugees trying to reach the continent.



However, they have also caused controversy, with numerous papers including the Guardian choosing to print a picture of a policeman cradling the dead child on their front pages rather than the image him lying face down on the beach.

The Independent was the only UK paper to choose the more distressing image of Alan for its front page.

Independent editor Amol Rajan defended the use of the picture on Saturday, writing: “Ultimately, we felt – and still do – that the power to shock is a vital instrument of journalism, and therefore democracy. Our motivation wasn’t avaricious; it was to shock the world into action.”