Poll: Were Rolling Stone right to put Boston suspect Tsarnaev on the cover?

 

Wednesday 17 July 2013 13:59 BST
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With tousled hair and a sultry gaze, Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev looks like just another rock star to grace the cover of Rolling Stone - perhaps a sixth member of the Strokes.

The cover, which uses a picture taken from Tsarnaev's Twitter account, has sparked controversy online, with some accusing the magazine of "glamourising terrorism".

The puff promises to tell the story of "how a popular, promising student was failed by his family, fell into radical Islam and became a monster" and the piece, by Janet Reitman, provides a lengthy profile of the alleged terrorist.

On the one hand, the cover emphasises the "popular, promising" side of Tsarnaev - presenting an alluring angle to the story.

On the other, it gives prominence to a man suspected of an atrocity, publicity that could encourage others.

Would you have put Tsarnaev on the cover? Take our poll.

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