Sudan Social Media Clout Chasers

After the crisis in Sudan began gaining social media following from advocacy of the media blackout and human rights violations still occurring today, many accounts started popping up, promising followers they would send meals to Sudan. However, these accounts were not legitimate, they were just looking for a niche to gain followers and Instagram clout.

This was the post that went viral. So many people shared this to their story in attempts to provide meals to Sudanese children suffering in the civil unrest and military brutality. Many people I follow shared this post in meager humanitarian efforts. Unfortunately, as a previously mentioned, the account was not legitimate, it was removed, and many other copy-cat accounts returned in their own attempts to exploit Sudan for Instagram clout.

“'It’s incredibly difficult to send meals to Sudan,' said Joe English, a UNICEF communications specialist. When reached for comment via Instagram direct message, the administrator of @SudanMealProject could not provide any proof that the account was working with any aid organizations, nor could the administrator back up any of the claims made in the account’s posts" (Lorenz, 2019).

Other social media accounts have done this as well. I've seen things like, "Share this on your story and we will clean out the oceans!" Things that just seem unreasonable.

This is not only insulting to those suffering in Sudan, but also those who are actually advocating for Sudan in the midst of their media blackout. People exposing militarized states and injustice, people reporting on rape and murder via Instagram. Because of the lack of global recognition for this crisis on news outlets, people turned to Instagram and other social media to stay informed, and were extremely misled.

Check out my other blog posts for more about the Sudan crisis and the media blackout in the country right now.

Lorenz, T. (2019, June 17). Sudan and the Instagram Tragedy Hustle. Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2019/06/instagrammers-are-exploiting-sudan-crisis/591808/