Let's talk about influencers posting about Gaza

It certainly divides opinion.

‘What is the point of a following, or an artistry of any kind, if not to change the world in what small ways one can?’ These were the eloquent words of a follower of mine on Instagram, when I broached the topic of influencers - and by that I mean anyone with a considerable following on social media, could be local, could be global - and whether they have or have not been posting about the genocide of the Palestinians. In this post I want to explore what has now become somewhat of a polemic issue (the issue of posting, not the genocide - just to be clear). I will use the term ‘influencer’ throughout this piece for brevity.

I wrote a column for IMAGE Magazine - one of my other gigs - when this wave of events began in October, about the pressure to post and the fear I had in the beginning, of saying the wrong thing or not being informed enough and wanting the chance to gather my thoughts rather than just share everything I was seeing because it was the right thing to be seen doing. I wrote about how what was happening was complex, as I found it really hard to wrap my head around the history and geopolitics at play. 

Weeks have passed and I no longer have the same fear. I have read, I have listened, I have spoken with others more informed than me. It is no longer remotely complicated to me (not what’s happening now, nor the history). I felt compelled, the more I understood, to post what felt important to me in relation to Gaza. I couldn’t post my normal kind of content without a break in regular programming to say ‘hey, I see you, I see this, I know this is wrong, I don’t stand for it. I don’t quite know how to help, but I can’t not share if it contributes in any way towards a ceasefire or more awareness of this enormous injustice.’ At the same time, I couldn’t get rid of all of my normal content and post wall to wall Gaza content because this is also my job. I also enjoyed still sharing the things that gave me a giggle or might give someone a lift in their day. 

I realised that so much of what I now knew about was thanks to social media. Had I not seen others share his profile, for example, I would never have known to follow Motaz and the work he’s doing on the ground which helped me connect on a very human level, beyond the news headlines and shocking statistics. Had I stuck only to legacy news sources - especially those from the US - I might unwittingly consume content that served their own political or commercial agendas and find my opinions shaped for me. Had I not seen the passion of others, I might not feel as passionate as I do now. And I’m grateful for that. 

For me it was never a fear of losing followers or cutting myself off from brand opportunities; I don’t do a huge amount of sponsored content to begin with but I don’t think I’d worry about losing out to brands directly fuelling genocide if it came my way. If I was offending followers for saying that what’s happening is not okay, I did not want those followers. In the same way I’d never be sad to lose a follower who’d vote No for gay marriage. Don’t care, bye, see ya. 

I was called an ‘anti-semetic fuck’ in my DMs.