In the article In Defense of the Poor Image. Hito Steyerl explores the concept of “bad images”, i.e., images that are of poor quality and resolution.

In the digital age, these images are constantly uploaded, downloaded, compressed, and re-edited, becoming a “replica in motion” whose value is transformed from a traditional exhibition value to a cultural one.

This point of view deserves further skepticism. She emphasizes that the “bad image” breaks with the elitism of the traditional image and becomes a symbol of the global flow of information. However, this free flow actually depends on platforms and algorithms controlled by capital. The real question is whether the democratization of the image really means cultural liberation. Or is it merely a cheap, fragmented form of visual consumption? Furthermore, the proliferation of poor quality images may accustom people to crudeness and low quality, while neglecting deeper narratives and historicity. Ultimately are these images a challenge to visual authority, or are they further commodified under neoliberal logic?