As it emerged that Lubitz may have had a history of depression, headlines from some of Britain's newspapers called him "crazed" and a "madman" and asked "Why on earth was he allowed to fly?"
Mental health charities called out the "overly simplistic" portrayal of depression and the implication that it could cause someone to be a murderer, or disqualify them from working.
Some people with depression mocked the Daily Mail, which implied that Lubitz should not have had his job if he suffered from depression.
Twitter users asked the newspaper to check whether they were "allowed" to drive, or even make a cup of tea:
Hi @MailOnline , I have depression but I need to drive my car to the shops, is this OK? Is driving OK? Please respond I am hungry.
— TechnicallyRon (@TechnicallyRon) March 27, 2015@TechnicallyRon @MailOnline I too have depression, am I ok to use a kettle? I need a cup of tea.
— Sally (@MillyMcMophead) March 27, 2015Shall we just compile a list of jobs which someone who has ever had depression MUST NEVER HAVE? pic.twitter.com/aIKy1ntZQm
— Rían Love (@RyanJL) March 26, 2015In a joint statement, Paul Farmer, the chief executive of Mind; Mark Winstanley the head of Rethink Mental Illness, and Sue Baker, the director of the Time to Change campaign, said the front pages risked "adding to the stigma surrounding mental health problems."
“The terrible loss of life in the Germanwings plane crash is tragic, and we send our deepest sympathies to the families," they said.
"Whilst the full facts are still emerging, there has been widespread media reporting speculating about the link with the pilot’s history of depression, which has been overly simplistic.
"Clearly assessment of all pilots’ physical and mental health is entirely appropriate - but assumptions about risk shouldn't be made across the board for people with depression, or any other illness.
"There will be pilots with experience of depression who have flown safely for decades and assessments should be made on a case by case basis.
"Today’s headlines risk adding to the stigma surrounding mental health problems, which millions of people experience each year, and we would encourage the media to report this issue responsibly.”
A spokesperson for Mind told The Huffington Post UK that this applied to almost all of Friday's newspaper headlines, not just the tabloids.
Other online commenters claimed that this kind of media coverage could discourage those with mental health issues - which one in four people will experience during their lives - from talking about their experience.
and we wonder why many people with mental health problems feel like they can't speak out pic.twitter.com/D98svNQLEC
— Elena Cresci (@elenacresci) March 26, 2015MORE ON GERMANWINGS:
- Germanwings Plane Crash Black Box 'Damaged' As Mystery Grows Over Final 8-Minutes
- Germanwings A320 Plane Crash: 3 British Victims Confirmed
- Germanwings Crew Refuse To Fly After Airbus A320 French Alps Plane Crash
- 'No Distress Call' And Rapid Descent At Centre Of Germanwings Mystery
- Germanwings Plane Had 16 Students And Two Teachers From Same School On Board
- Germanwings Plane Crashes In French Alps With 150 On Board
Others people pointed out that those with depression are able to have jobs, and to function normally in society, without killing hundreds of people.
Most damning about today's tabloid headlines: they suggest a link between depression and propensity for mass murder. Which does not exist.
— Henrique Quina (@HeQuiLait) March 27, 2015
RT if you have a long history of depression and have never crashed a plane on purpose. pic.twitter.com/d5Q0Z9gBfc
— Rick Burin (@rickburin) March 26, 2015Daily Mail says noone with depression should be allowed to pilot. Makes a change from it sayin that everyone with depression is fit for work
— David Alexander (@dakeay) March 26, 2015@elenacresci @papierhache this is so bloody awful. The whole thing. It's just 100% gross tragedy from the event through to the media.
— Lance E. McDonald (@manfightdragon) March 26, 2015@Mullies The headlines aren't saying people with depression are "asshats" or "a bit weird": they're saying we're potential mass murderers.
— Mental Health (@Sectioned_) March 27, 2015
Most damning about today's tabloid headlines: they suggest a link between depression and propensity for mass murder. Which does not exist.
— Henrique Quina (@HeQuiLait) March 27, 2015
Dear media: Having depression does not equate to homicidal, suicidal or incompetent. Headlines this morning are a disgrace.
— Stephen Donnan (@SteveDonnan) March 27, 2015
Clearly, there were likely issues with this pilot, maybe even MH issues, but the headlines just reinforce the stigmas of #depression and MH
— LINK (@LINK_MSHS) March 27, 2015
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