Right now, the world is watching Australia as the country faces a major environmental catastrophe. Long periods of drought have led to wildfires spanning a landmass roughly twice the size of Belgium.
Close to a billion animals have perished in the flames, according to University of Sydney scientist Chris Dickman, and at least 20 people have died. Countless homes have been destroyed and several ecosystems have collapsed.
If you’re not one of the 77 Canadian firefighters or wildfire specialists who have gone overseas to attempt to stop the blazes, you might be sitting at home wondering what you can do to help. Where does everyone get information about these topics? Social media.
We can all agree that social media can help people become informed on newsworthy topics. Unfortunately, some people have used tragedies as ways to get attention and boost followers. The Australian wildfires are no exception.
While scrolling through Instagram stories recently, I saw someone had shared a post from an account that claimed they would donate $2 for each person who followed and shared the page on their story.
Another page promised to donate $1 for every 100 people who followed and shared. To their credit, they provided a receipt to show that they had made a donation of $3,173.30, but they mainly highlighted the fact that they gained over 317,000 new followers.
Also, the money they proved they donated is less than the cost for two people to fly on Air Canada from Ottawa to Sydney and back. For all the attention they brought themselves, three-grand is a modest donation at best.
These Instagram accounts may succeed in spreading the word, but they are out to gain followers. These ‘organizations’ are often nowhere near these disaster zones, and lack the ability to provide any meaningful impact.
A big ethical question to ask is this: if you have enough money to make a significant donation, why should it matter how many Instagram followers you gain?
The wildfire ‘activism’ is not the only example of fake promises for follows that we’ve seen on social media. People also performed this type of stunt during the Amazon wildfires. While Sudan was going through a humanitarian crisis last summer, accounts popped up claiming they would donate one meal to a hungry child for every new follower they gained.
For all of the bad that we’re seeing during these tragic times, there are a lot of people out there doing important work. Notably, Wildlife Warriors and the Australia Zoo, organizations run by Terri Irwin and her kids, Bindi and Robert. The Irwins are on the ground, providing veterinary care to thousands of injured animals such as koalas, kangaroos and platypi.
The Australian Red Cross is on the ground, providing emergency aid to human survivors.
The Australian Defence Force and New Zealand Defence Force are also working together in several ways, using their military capabilities to save lives and provide important information from the air. Several fire departments are on the ground with the help of volunteers from around the world. They’re risking their lives extinguishing and stopping the spread of the fires.
The organizations that are actually helping often don’t get the recognition they deserve. But also, they’ve got more important things to worry about than how many people shared them on their stories.
As we watch this tragedy unfold—and it’s expected to keep going for months—know that there are places you can go to help. Your money can directly support an organization that is working to help survivors, save animals, and stop the fires.
There’s nothing wrong with sharing a post on your story if you want to raise awareness, but keep in mind the intentions of the page you’re choosing to promote.
Graphic by Paloma Callo.
