diff -u b/core/modules/media/media.install b/core/modules/media/media.install
--- b/core/modules/media/media.install
+++ b/core/modules/media/media.install
@@ -17,6 +17,12 @@
 
   $files = file_scan_directory($source, '/.*\.(svg|png|jpg|jpeg|gif)$/');
   foreach ($files as $file) {
+    // When reinstalling the media module we don't want to copy the icons when
+    // they already exist. The icons could be replaced (by a contrib module or
+    // manually), so we don't want to replace the existing files. Removing the
+    // files when we uninstall could also be a problem if the files are
+    // referenced somewhere else. Since showing an error that it was not
+    // possible to copy the files is also confusing, we silently do nothing.
     if (!file_exists($destination)) {
       file_unmanaged_copy($file->uri, $destination, FILE_EXISTS_ERROR);
     }