Turkish photographer Nilufer Demir captured two shocking images in early September documenting the plight of the Syrian people. One of a 3-year-old boy face down on a beach, and another where the same boy is being carried away by a Turkish police officer. Perhaps as a result of the photos’ shocking nature, it has caught the attention of people all over the world. However, an unsettling amount of news outlets decided against running the photo of the Syrian boy, arguing that the picture is too graphic. As horrific as some images may be, there is a journalistic duty to expose a certain reality to the public — however graphic that reality might be.

This isn’t the first time a shocking photograph has had a significant impact in the media. Richard Drew’s “The Falling Man,” taken during the 9/11 attack, resulted in a serious amount of backlash against the Associated Press photographer. Despite the national shock that the photo endured, it has become one of the most remembered images of 9/11. In 2001, the photo was awarded a World Press Photo Award.

Going back a few decades to another picture that is still remembered today, Vietnamese war photographer Nick Ut’s “The Terror of War” or “Napalm Girl” is another example of media’s neglect to publish images that are seen as unclean. It exposed the darker depths of the Vietnam War at a time that was sensitive to the U.S. When the photo was published, war protests emerged all over the world, another example of how graphic photographs can change the world.

The photograph of the Syrian boy has already impacted the conversation on the suffering of the Syrian people. Shortly after the release of the photo, Prime Minister David Cameron announced that the United Kingdom would take in 20,000 Syrian migrants. Efforts to help migrants have become stronger since the image was released, including a long overdue offer of Canadian citizenship to the Syrian boy’s father, who declined the offer.

Terrible things happen, and shielding me from them by way of preventing publication strips me of my right to know what is truly occurring in the world. It is often argued that constant exposure to horror can leave a person numb to the effect, but not seeing that kind of impact can leave a person ignorant of the world in which they live. Reality can be censored, but it cannot be stopped.