Surfers Find War Images Online

WASHINGTON--Americans are increasingly turning to the Internet for news and images of the Iraq war that are not covered by mainstream media, according to a report released by the Pew Internet and American Life Project.

The graphic depictions of the war in Iraq, including beheadings, kidnappings, and the atrocities committed at the Abu Ghraib prison, generally are not available through most American media outlets, but are available to anyone with an Internet connection. And many Web surfers are seeking out this information: According to Pew's study "The Internet as a Unique News Source," 28 percent of people who have viewed graphic war images online say they actively sought out the photos or videos.

Not all Web surfers approve, however: 49 percent of Americans disapprove of graphic war images shown online.

Common Reaction

Josh Drobnyk, a 28-year-old reporter, received a link to one of the beheading videos from a fellow reporter in his Washington newsroom.

"I was curious," Drobnyk says. "I wanted to almost feel the pain. I wanted to see what these guys were doing to people."

After viewing the video, he felt sick, he says. "I wish I hadn't see it; I had a nightmare that night, and I every time I see that image or hear the threat of another beheading, I think of that image," Drobnyk says.

Drobnyk's reaction was common, according to the Pew study. Thirty-three percent of people who viewed graphic war images online wish they hadn't seen them, while seven percent say they felt they had made a good decision to view the images but also wish they hadn't seen them, the report says.

Unexpected Images

Many Americans also are stumbling upon the gory war images unwittingly, the study finds.

Robert Kaplan, a graduate student in Las Vegas, had no intention of viewing the gruesome images but was confronted with one while he looked for news online. "It was at the top of Drudge," Kaplan says. "A picture of the guy before he was beheaded; I didn't click on it."

The desire to see such violent images is "human nature," Kaplan says. "People think, 'Oh, that's really disgusting; I want to see,'" he says. "Like when the milk is bad and you say, 'Smell this: It's terrible.'"

The Pew study found that people at higher socioeconomic levels--determined by education level and income level--are more likely to approve of such graphic images being shown on the Web. It also found that younger audiences are more accepting of the images.

Thirty-two percent of people under the age of 30 have seen graphic images, compared with twenty-three percent of people between 30 and 49, and eighteen percent of people 50 and older, according to the study. More than half of the under-30 group approved of the images being shown online.

The report also found that the number of American Internet users relying on the Web for news coverage has increased 75 percent since March 2000. On any given day in March 2000, 20 million surfers were getting their news online. That number jumped to 35 million by June 2004, the study says.