Arturo Pérez-Reverte has presented his book Special Correspondent at the Ateneo de Madrid, a compilation of war chronicles, alongside the exhibition War Photographs (1974-1985). There, he criticized the current coverage of conflicts, stating that they are covering up the war with a softened version of horror, distancing the public from the reality of the battlefield.
The digital filter that hides the harshness of conflict 🎭
The voluntary censorship that Pérez-Reverte denounces has a technical counterpart in platform algorithms. Content moderation systems, trained to avoid disturbing images, prioritize audience retention over truthfulness. This generates a sanitized feed where howling wounded or the smells of rotting flesh are replaced by clean graphics and aseptic narratives, losing the immediacy of field journalism.
Next step: war with a beauty filter and background music 🎬
If we continue like this, soon war reports will include a notice: this battle has been softened for your visual comfort. Bombings will come with a vintage filter, rubble will be retouched with Photoshop, and reports will include a tutorial on how to tie a slipknot with your bulletproof vest. Everything very clean, very aseptic, so that no one gets their hands or conscience dirty.