If you were killed, what photo would the media use in their stories? That’s the question that the #iftheygunnedmedown hashtag asks on social media as minorities point out media bias in the deaths of African-Americans.
The question comes after the shooting death of Mike Brown in Ferguson, Missouri on Saturday. The unarmed 18-year-old was about to begin college when he was killed by a police officer. But the mainstream media shows a picture of Brown flashing a peace sign, which Yesha Callahan at The Root says has been called a “gang sign” by conservative outlets. She calls this the “Trayvon Martin effect.”