A new viral video is taking on the "white savior complex" in a truly hilarious way.
"How to Get More Likes on Social Media" is an animated parody video featuring a young woman who's disheartened by her lack of Instagram likes. How does she fix it? She heads over to an unnamed country in Africa ("Real Africa," that is), and snaps some selfies with sick and impoverished children.
Before long, engagement on her Instagram selfies jump from a measly three likes to a whopping 9,859.
The video is part of a new campaign called #NoStereotypes, which discourages volunteers traveling abroad to developing countries from sharing photos that take away from locals' dignity and privacy. The goal is to push people to have more respect for different cultures, avoid harmful stereotypes, and quit it with the poverty porn once and for all.
#NoStereotypes is a joint effort from Radi-Aid (a project of the nonprofit SAIH Norway) and Barbie Savior, an Instagram parody account using Barbies to mock people who make their volunteer trips all about themselves.
"A lot of these people make empty promises and never come back to the community," Emily Worrall, creator of Barbie Savior, told NPR.
While the video is funny, the best part of the campaign is an animated social media guide that helps volunteers do impactful work while maintaining the dignity of the communities they're visiting.
Check out the full guide here, and do better.
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