As the news of yesterday’s Boston bombings spread, several high-profile tech websites decided to cover it – not just by linking to relevant stories such as Google’s people finder, but by liveblogging the aftermath, posting as many gruesome photos as they could find on social networks, and by circulating baseless rumours.

It’s the Mail Online model, of course: never mind the quality, feel the hits. But I can’t help thinking that if your first reaction to a terrorist atrocity is to think “man! I can monetise this!”, there is something seriously fucking wrong with you.