Readers appalled by graphic newspaper front pages of James Foley's execution

News Corp newspapers in Australia and overseas have been criticised for publishing graphic front-page images of US journalist James Foley moments before he was beheaded.

The New York Post, edited by Australian Col Allan, covered its entire front page with the most provocative image of Foley on his knees with the blade of his masked killer's knife held flush against his throat.

Under the headline 'SAVAGES', the use of the image has attracted widespread condemnation.

ninemsn has chosen not to run the front pages of the Post or other newspapers that have upset readers

In Australia, News Corp newspapers The Daily Telegraph and The Courier Mail both published a graphic image on their front pages of the moment just before Foley was killed, although the Queensland paper ran its image much smaller.

Many newspapers and news websites ran images from the video, but chose still shots well before the murder.

Shortly after the five-minute video was taken down from YouTube yesterday, the journalist's family appealed for it not to be watched or shared out of respect.

Twitter's chief executive suspended the accounts of people who continued to share the video.

"We have been and are actively suspending accounts as we discover them related to this graphic imagery. Thank you," Dick Costolo wrote.