How should we cover ambiguous videos that go viral?

Dichotomy of opinion is often a running theme in much of the content and news that we cover on indy100

We’ve all seen it – the explosive viral video showing a young white male in a bright red Make America Great Again cap staring directly into the face of a Native American elder. Nathan Phillips, a 64-year-old who served in the marine corps reserve, stoically beats his drum and sings, as a group of white youths appeared to relentlessly taunt him and smirk in his face at the Indigenous Peoples March in Washington last week.

The original one-minute video has now gained international attention, with many seeing it as a 21st-century example of racism and white supremacy in America. It’s reminiscent of the aggressive white women screaming at Elizabeth Eckford, one of the first black students to attend class at an all-white school; or images of a woman and her child outside the “coloured entrance” at the movie theatre.