--- description: A searing open letter has been written to Mark Zuckerberg after Facebook deleted an upload of the iconic Vietnam War image title: Mark Zuckerberg Blasted After Facebook Censors 'Napalm Girl' image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta121dfd339ab053d/6988a559524fc00babdf96d4/gettyimages-511574500.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Tech](/tag/time-section-tech/) ## Tech Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Mark Zuckerberg Has Been Blasted Over Facebook's Censorship of the 'Napalm Girl' Photo by [Kevin Lui](/author/kevin-lui/) ## Kevin Lui Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 13, 2023 2:46 AM CUTPublished: Sep 9, 2016 5:23 AM CUT  Founder and CEO of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg giving a speech in Barcelona, Spain, Feb. 21, 2016. Founder and CEO of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg giving a speech in Barcelona, Spain, Feb. 21, 2016.David Ramos–Getty Images by [Kevin Lui](/author/kevin-lui/) ## Kevin Lui Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 13, 2023 2:46 AM CUTPublished: Sep 9, 2016 5:23 AM CUT “Dear Mark Zuckerberg,” read the headline on the cover of _Aftenposten_, Norway’s largest newspaper by circulation. It was [an open letter](http://www.aftenposten.no/meninger/kommentar/Dear-Mark-I-am-writing-this-to-inform-you-that-I-shall-not-comply-with-your-requirement-to-remove-this-picture-604156b.html "undefined") from Espen Egil Hansen, the paper’s editor-in-chief and CEO, accusing the Facebook founder and CEO of abusing power and threatening the freedom of speech. It follows an uproar over Facebook’s decision to delete [the iconic photo of a crying young girl running from napalm bombs](http://www.apimages.com/Collection/Landing/Photographer-Nick-Ut-The-Napalm-Girl-/ebfc0a860aa946ba9e77eb786d46207e "undefined") during the Vietnam War, taken by Nick Ut. The photo was a part of a Norwegian author’s Facebook post about significant historical photos documenting the history of military conflicts. “I am upset, disappointed — well, in fact even afraid — of what you are about to do to a mainstay of our democratic society,” wrote Hansen, calling Zuckerberg “the world’s most powerful editor.” The “right and duty” of the media to bring important information to readers, even if it may be unpleasant, “should not be undermined by algorithms encoded in \[Facebook’s\] office in California,” the Norwegian journalist continued. He further said that, in allowing its algorithms to censor the photo “just because a tiny minority might possibly be offended by images of naked children,” Facebook is only trying to achieve its objective of making the world more open and connected “in a totally superficial sense.” Read the full letter [here](http://www.aftenposten.no/meninger/kommentar/Dear-Mark-I-am-writing-this-to-inform-you-that-I-shall-not-comply-with-your-requirement-to-remove-this-picture-604156b.html "undefined"). Facebook later said it was difficult to know what in context the picture of the nude child was being posted. In a statement the company said: “While we recognize that this photo is iconic, it’s difficult to create a distinction between allowing a photograph of a nude child in one instance and not others. We try to find the right balance between enabling people to express themselves while maintaining a safe and respectful experience for our global community. Our solutions won’t always be perfect, but we will continue to try to improve our policies and the ways in which we apply them.” \[[_Aftenposten_](http://www.aftenposten.no/meninger/kommentar/Dear-Mark-I-am-writing-this-to-inform-you-that-I-shall-not-comply-with-your-requirement-to-remove-this-picture-604156b.html "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4484905/facebook-censorship-napalm-girl-newspaper-editor-norway/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4484905/facebook-censorship-napalm-girl-newspaper-editor-norway/"},"headline":"Mark Zuckerberg Has Been Blasted Over Facebook's Censorship of the 'Napalm Girl' Photo","datePublished":"2016-09-09T05:23:01.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-13T02:46:13.000Z","description":"The image of a naked young girl running in terror from napalm bombs during the Vietnam War is a historical icon","url":"https://time.com/4484905/facebook-censorship-napalm-girl-newspaper-editor-norway/","keywords":["Tech","Social Media","facebook","Mark Zuckerberg","norway"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta121dfd339ab053d/6988a559524fc00babdf96d4/gettyimages-511574500.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Kevin Lui","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/kevin-lui/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta121dfd339ab053d/6988a559524fc00babdf96d4/gettyimages-511574500.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"New Samsung S7 Worldwide Unveiling","caption":"Founder and CEO of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg giving a speech in Barcelona, Spain, Feb. 21, 2016.","creditText":"David Ramos–Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-tech/","name":"Tech"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4484905/facebook-censorship-napalm-girl-newspaper-editor-norway/","name":"Mark Zuckerberg Has Been Blasted Over Facebook's Censorship of the 'Napalm Girl' Photo"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Tech Time: How Facebook's Safety Check is Evolving","description":"Tech Time: How Facebook's Safety Check is Evolving","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/u1Y7z4NX/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-11-18T23:59:45.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/u1Y7z4NX.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4484905/facebook-censorship-napalm-girl-newspaper-editor-norway/","duration":"PT2M6S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4484905/facebook-censorship-napalm-girl-newspaper-editor-norway/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```