It was impossible to miss: on Facebook news feeds everywhere, profile pictures featuring filters of the French flag expressed solidarity for the attacks in Paris last weekend.

While the subject of solidarity seems non-controversial for an event that some are calling France’s 9/11, there has been substantial pushback on the symbolic gesture.

Most famously, a French woman and former Parisian named Charlotte Farhan published a post explaining why she would not change her profile picture to feature the French flag. In the post, she explained that changing the photo for only Paris would be “wrong,” and, “If I did this for every attack on the world, I would have to change my profile everyday [sic] several times a day.”

As this post went viral and inspired others to do the same, blame shifted toward people on Facebook, criticizing them for not changing their profile picture for each tragic event that happens around the globe. However, this not only wrongly fosters alienation and guilt, but it also shows a lack of understanding of the implications that the Paris attacks will have on the rest of the world.

There’s no denying that Farhan is right in some ways. She touches on inherent media bias — bias that has always existed in Western media that curates the news to suit our interests. Because of this, Americans will read more coverage on a foreign issue that either directly affects the U.S. or is a large-scale tragic event.

We need media bias. News is happening in every corner of the world, and it is impossible to read about all of it. On the other hand, choosing how and what to cover can have monumental consequences. Events can either reach every home or be doomed into obscurity.

In the wake of the Paris attacks people shared an attack on Kenya that left 147 dead. Some shared this news, which actually broke in April, because they genuinely confused the date, and others shared it to express outrage at how they had never heard of this attack before.

A series of suicide bombings in Beirut, Lebanon that happened the day before the Paris attacks are also receiving more coverage — not because of the carnage, but because people felt it went forgotten in the wake of France.

Both of these events were covered by mainstream media at the time of their attacks. Claiming that they were not is simply a fact error. However, the amount of coverage each received is certainly less compared to Paris.

This is because the events in Paris that happened almost a week ago will have massive global impact. Already, people are seeing the world turn into a harsher place. Borders are closing, xenophobia is rampant and Syrian refugees are getting punished the most in their greatest time of need.

Paris was not only an attack on France — it was an attack on the Western world that showed that the Islamic State group must be addressed. The context of the attacks is so heavy that lack of extensive coverage would be a disservice to the gravity of the issue at hand.

Moreover, the Paris attacks are not one isolated incident. They represent everything that the Islamic State group has done in Kenya, in Beirut, in the greater Middle East, and across the world. If anything, the social media response informing others about these attacks is exactly what people need to hear right now.

Blaming Facebook users for changing their profile pictures to the French flag is misguided and shames someone for showing solidarity. Tragedy is awful in every respect, and making someone feel guilty for attempting to acknowledge one tragedy delegitimizes the lives lost.

If the issue is lack of coverage, share articles and get the word out rather than attempting to bat one down. Make more flag filters, post more statuses, but do not use guilt to skew the dialogue.

Keely Sullivan is a senior broadcast and digital journalism and French dual major. Her column appears weekly. She can be reached at kasull02@syr.edu and followed on Twitter @specialksully.

Published on November 19, 2015 at 12:35 am