Anything that’s happening in society, be it the coronavirus pandemic or the #BlackLivesMatter protests, tends to bring out the best and worst in people, and it’s always reflected on social media.
For example, last night Instagram was flooded by dark tiles to support the movement and show that we, as a whole, are fiercely against racism and won’t stand for it.
But with the good always comes the bad, and by bad, I am, of course, referring to influencers who are using the situation as an opportunity for #content and fuck right off with that, please.
A bunch of influencers have been sprung on social media for being incredibly shit during this time, such as the following woman in Santa Monica, California who was filmed taking a totally cute #selfie in front of a mobile store that was damaged during the riots.
https://twitter.com/nicolebaio/status/1267505210965889024
Opportunism at the expense of others at its absolute finest, my friends.
Another viral vid shows a woman posing with a power drill in hand, seemingly assisting to board up a business, as a man took her photo (interestingly in Santa Monica as well).
The woman then thanked a man and drove away in a black Mercedes – peak white privilege.
— ᴇᴍᴀɴɴʏ (@emannymusic) June 2, 2020
She has been identified as Fiona Moriarty McLaughlin, a journalist for the Washington Examiner who has since disabled her social media accounts amid the backlash to her video.
Athlete LeBron James and director Ava DuVernay also took to Twitter to call her out.
😤😤😤😤😤😤🤦🏾♂️🤦🏾♂️🤦🏾♂️🤦🏾♂️ https://t.co/OD5hBqHPqS
— LeBron James (@KingJames) June 2, 2020
You know what? I’m… I think I’m gonna put Twitter away for a few minutes before I throw this phone across the room. https://t.co/IfbFv1HvR2
— Ava DuVernay (@ava) June 2, 2020
So in summary, we all need to do better. All of us. Yes, that includes you, influencers.
