Insta-Charity
At first I thought it was a sham. As Earth Day 2019 approached, posts on more and more of my friends’ stories featured a promotion of what claimed to be “The World’s Most Sustainable Post,” an Instagram post by a company that would plant a tree for every 10 likes.
Looking at the account, my suspicions first rose when I saw that the shared post was in fact the only post on the account’s feed. The picture itself is a little misleading, implying to the fast scroller that every like corresponds to a tree planted, although the description clearly states the 10:1 ratio. However, the appeal appeared to be affiliated with a legitimate clothing company, tentree, and even boasted the blue check of Instagram certifiability.
The campaign seemed legitimate, and its popularity (and “like” count) only grew (in contrast to the decline of the “like” to tree ratio in response to apparent lack of foresight about the viralability of the post). And social media users, “liking” and even going the extra step of sharing the post on their story, felt like they had done a good deed for the environment.
They’re not wrong… but the situation is a little ironic. The post allowed people to “help the earth” from the comfort of their own thumbs, encouraging a sort of byproduct charity that reminded me of critiques I had read of TOMS customers, only Instagram doesn’t require economic or physical commitment (although I’m sure tentree had a bit of a business boost through its ingenious advertisement). While it’s great that consumers want to do good, their relative selfish complacency often yields ineffecient charity work that is primarily for the purpose of self validation.
This phenomenon didn’t stop with the earth day post. I started to see more Instagram stories populated by these hybrid activism/charity posts, wielding the power of viralability to implement social good. The common thread between them? Environmental protection projects.
One prominent post was from @honeyb.co. Based on their “FAQ” story highlight, the post originated from a French civics class and featured evidence of their participation in the Cheerios 500 seed project (itself a corporate charity/advertisement campaign, but not directly in partnership with the Instagram account). The post was designed to raise awareness of the environmental impact of honeybees during the process of planting. By the time I saw it shared, it had garnered hundreds of thousands of likes, far beyond the 500 possible. Yet the story that led me to it implored “THEYRE PLANTING FLOWERS FOR BEES!!! WATCH THE DARN VIDEO!!!” (indicating the perhaps not so reality-grounded motivation of the sharer). Nevertheless, the bee project appears to be an example of an earnest desire to use social media to broadcast an actual project and cause, and its viralability was underestimated by the account as well.
The next post that caught my attention was a slightly more dubious one from @healthyoceans.co. In contrast with the other posts, this one seems to be foremost interested and aware of its viralability, asking users explicitly to share the post on stories, its highlighted story post claiming that “You are helping save the world by doing this!” as well as stating a goal of 300,000 likes. A recent story post by @healthyoceans.co also promises a follow back for users who direct message the account after thus promoting the post. The cause post is the only one of substance on the account, and it seems to promise impossible, vague contributions, $1 for every like and, according to their bio, “1 follow=$5!” An early commenter proposed 50 cents donated for every comment, to which the account replied “sure.” It uses “cause” buzzwords and comments on the post, like “Your going viral omg [surprise emoji]” from @butteredcroissant_911, indicate an intent on mass attention replication.
The account follows National Geographic, National Geographic Travel, and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). The post mentions that the account has “Partnered with National Geographic and WWO,” the latter inferrably an incorrect reference to the WWF. The post tags National Geographic Travel, Sea Legacy, WWF, and National Geographic.
I attempted to contact the account via their listed email, “saveearthsoceanssssrn@gmail.com”, I am guessing a fake address with the multiple s’s and rn (right now), and got a failed delivery status notification.
I’m not sure if @healthyoceans.co is intent on later introducing merchandise, making money through advertisement, or just experimenting with the viralability of these environmental posts. Despite their repeated comments reassuring users that they’re “legit,” their cliche bandwagoning and implausible promises are suspect at best. And, again, the intentions of its followers and promoters are largely pure and good. But the @healthyoceans.co account may be at the beginning of a wave of similar accounts to take advantage of the mass impulse of insta-charity.
The environmentalism of “Generation Z” is formed by warning of climate change and pollution that stand to wreak real havoc on our futures if unimpeded. This shaping factor sits alongside perhaps the most important one of our generation: Internet literacy. But the Internet is no longer just a place for cat videos, vines, or Kardashian photos (as the counterculture @world_record_egg demonstrated). It is beginning to become more real, perceived as a place for actual activism.
Social media has been instrumental long before in protest movements, most notably in Black Lives Matter and the March for Our Lives, as an instrument to organize change in the real world. Now there is a mass appeal shift to a belief that real change can be enacted without leaving the Internet.
Viralability is being acknowledged as what it has become: real power.
Update: A day after this story was orginally published, healthyoceans.co’s post had surpsssed 1.3 million “likes” with a new stated goal of 1.5 million. Posts on its story claimed a double of the donation should the account reach 100 thousand followers, and then an odd reversal stating that the follow to $5 policy only applied if it reached 200 thousand followers. The account seems to be aiming at sustained follower involvement, perhaps foreshadowing later usage of followers in garnering ad revenue. The account also did not respond to a direct message with questions about their “partnership” and donation scheme.
