honorable mention
Steven Saphore australiaPhoto © Steven Saphore
title
Anti-lockdown protester and a police horse
The interaction caused mass outrage and concern for the animal’s welfare as the image circulated widely online, with one article calling it “the photo that shocked the nation.”
The next morning, NSW Police revealed the 33-year-old man had been charged for allegedly striking a police horse during unauthorised protest activity and he was subsequently incarcerated.
The viral image spurred debate about media manipulation and animal cruelty: Did Pulkownik actually punch the horse? Should police use horses? Many news sources condemned Pulkownik’s actions while others questioned the veracity of the image. At the same time, social media was flooded with messages of support for the horses involved, sympathetic to the scenarios they faced.
While there was a strong community rebuke of the rally, I was soon subjected to a barrage of online abuse. Over the next few days I received hundreds of comments and messages, including numerous death threats, to my social media accounts and personal website from the anti-lockdown community who were angered by the photo. Many falsely claimed it had been manipulated and misrepresented anti-lockdown protesters in the media.
The backlash I received had an impact on my mental health for some time after the incident for fear of being recognised and potentially abused.
The incident caused me to reflect on my intentions and responsibility as a journalist. With the invaluable support and guidance of close friends and mentors in my field, I was able to grow my self-assurance and self-confidence as a journalist in the process.
Saphore began his photography journey in the Fiji Islands by photographing environmental issues for NGOs such as BirdLife International, NatureFiji and 350.org.
In 2016, Saphore covered the landfall and aftermath of Severe Tropical Cyclone Winston in Fiji, the most intense tropical cyclone recorded in the Southern Hemisphere, for Reuters and AFP.
In 2018, Saphore joined Australian Associated Press, where his coverage from the 2019–20 Australian bushfire season, colloquially known as ‘Black Summer’, was published internationally in The New York Times and National Geographic.
He is a contributor to Australian Associated Press, AFP, Sydney Morning Herald, The Guardian, and others.
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entry description
During a deeply controversial anti-lockdown protest in Sydney where many unmasked protesters gathered to oppose NSW’s coronavirus health orders, protester Kristian Pulkownik, 33, was photographed seemingly punching mounted police horse, Tobruk, in the head, while wearing a shirt that says 'Free Speech'.The interaction caused mass outrage and concern for the animal’s welfare as the image circulated widely online, with one article calling it “the photo that shocked the nation.”
The next morning, NSW Police revealed the 33-year-old man had been charged for allegedly striking a police horse during unauthorised protest activity and he was subsequently incarcerated.
The viral image spurred debate about media manipulation and animal cruelty: Did Pulkownik actually punch the horse? Should police use horses? Many news sources condemned Pulkownik’s actions while others questioned the veracity of the image. At the same time, social media was flooded with messages of support for the horses involved, sympathetic to the scenarios they faced.
While there was a strong community rebuke of the rally, I was soon subjected to a barrage of online abuse. Over the next few days I received hundreds of comments and messages, including numerous death threats, to my social media accounts and personal website from the anti-lockdown community who were angered by the photo. Many falsely claimed it had been manipulated and misrepresented anti-lockdown protesters in the media.
The backlash I received had an impact on my mental health for some time after the incident for fear of being recognised and potentially abused.
The incident caused me to reflect on my intentions and responsibility as a journalist. With the invaluable support and guidance of close friends and mentors in my field, I was able to grow my self-assurance and self-confidence as a journalist in the process.
about the photographer
Steven Saphore is a freelance photojournalist born in Suva, Fiji, and currently based in Sydney, Australia.Saphore began his photography journey in the Fiji Islands by photographing environmental issues for NGOs such as BirdLife International, NatureFiji and 350.org.
In 2016, Saphore covered the landfall and aftermath of Severe Tropical Cyclone Winston in Fiji, the most intense tropical cyclone recorded in the Southern Hemisphere, for Reuters and AFP.
In 2018, Saphore joined Australian Associated Press, where his coverage from the 2019–20 Australian bushfire season, colloquially known as ‘Black Summer’, was published internationally in The New York Times and National Geographic.
He is a contributor to Australian Associated Press, AFP, Sydney Morning Herald, The Guardian, and others.
back to gallery