Google has suspended Antiwar.com from its AdSense network over the site's publishing of an Associated Press photo of a massacre committed by the government of Ukraine, raising questions about whether Google's policies on gory images are too strict on reporters and political activists who post newsworthy controversial content.

Google's AdSense network is a crucial monetization tool for many websites that provide free content to the public. Antiwar.com, a site that has relentlessly promoted non-interventionist foreign policy views through the publication of news and world events that relate to the outbreak of war, has relied on AdSense to pay the bills of late. However, Google controversially suspended the site from its network on Wednesday, initially for publishing Abu Ghraib prison photos, citing AdSense's policy against violent and gory images.

Google outlined its policies on violence and gore in an email to Antiwar.com, which said, "VIOLENCE/GORE: As stated in our program policies, AdSense publishers are not permitted to place Google ads on pages with violent or disturbing content, including sites with gory text or images."