The Economist’s second-most popular image of 2018 recalls one of the most brutal and shocking moments in Malta's recent history. The photo is of a spray-painted graffiti, quoting the late Maltese journalist, Daphne Caruana Galizia, who was killed in a car bomb back in October 2017. The graffiti, sprayed on a boundary wall in one of the busiest junctions in Msida, reads, “Speak the truth, even if your voice shakes", along with the date of Caruana Galizia's murder.
The photo elicited a reaction from Matthew Caruana Galizia, the late journalist’s son, who shared the photo on Facebook. “Spend millions of euros to spread lies with advertising on Facebook. Or buy a can of spray-paint for €3.50 and use it to tell the truth to the entire world.”
Both The Economist’s and Matthew Caruana Galizia’s posts raked in hundreds of comments of courage and encouragement from all over the world. The question of who ordered Caruana Galizia's death remains unanswered.