(Credit: Facebook, screenshot)

The CBS news program 60 Minutes showed, the network admitted,  “upsetting” graphic photographs of lynchings in a recent segment on a memorial to lynching victims in America, reported by Oprah Winfrey.

The network explained its decision in an April 8 story, “Why 60 Minutes Aired Photos of Lynchings in Report by Oprah.”

“To tell that story on 60 Minutes, Winfrey and a team of producers felt it was important to show historical photos of lynchings, images that are likely to disturb many viewers,” CBS detailed. “In an interview with 60 Minutes Overtime, Denise Schrier Cetta, the producer of the story, and Jeff Fager, the executive producer of the broadcast, explain their decision to air such upsetting photographs.”

Farger is quoted as saying, “I don’t think the story exists without those photos” and viewers need to see the photos to understand what happened.

iMediaEthics has written to CBS to ask what prompted the explanation and if it broadcast any statement.