Overview

Chernobyl "Influencer" Selfies refers to a wave of Instagram users going to Chernobyl in the wake of the Chernobyl television series to take pictures of themselves. The story inspired criticism from people who felt the users were not respecting the disaster which occurred there in 1986 and led to a plea from the Chernobyl creator to respect the area.

Background

On June 4th, 2019, Reuters^[1] reported that Chernobyl, Ukraine had seen a significant increase in tourism in the wake of the HBO series Chernobyl, which premiered May 6th, 2019. According to one tourist agency, Chernobyl had seen a 40% increase in tourism in the month of May compared to the previous May.

Developments

The wave of tourists coincided with an increase pictures being taken at Chernobyl and posted to Instagram. Some pictures which would go on to become notable once people realized the types of pictures being taken at the location include a picture by nz.nik^[2] taken in a mostly-off hazmat suit and lingerie (shown below, left). Another selfie was posted by user irene_vivch, showing her in front of a dilapidated bus (shown below, right). These began seeing attention when Twitter user @komacore^[3] tweeted several of the pictures on June 9th, gaining over 11,000 retweets and 42,000 likes.

This led to coverage from news outlets including Complex^[4] and the Sydney Morning Herald.^[5] Chernobyl showrunner Craig Mazin tweeted that while it was "wonderful" the show had inspired a wave of tourism, he urged visitors to "remember that a terrible tragedy occurred there. Comport yourselves with respect for all who suffered and sacrificed."^[6]

Criticism

On June 12th, The Atlantic^[7] published an article entitled "There’s Nothing Wrong With Posing for Photos at Chernobyl." In the piece, writer Taylor Lorenz argues that tweet made by @komacore mischaractizes the intent and people in the post. For example, the Atlantic note that Irene Vivch, a 19-year-old Ukranian-born student, had just 204 followers when she posted the photo of herself by the bus as part of a larger gallery of images."

She told the publication, "I do not consider myself a ‘full-time influencer. Chernobyl made a massive impression on me … So I made a big Instagram post about it describing my feelings."

The article concludes:

Blatantly rude and disrespectful behavior, such as mocking deaths or climbing on the property of a historical site, is inexcusable. But a brief search of the Pripyat geo-tag reveals a stream of people who have simply posed for photos throughout the site. Instagram Stories tagged there include videos of visitors goofing off on a tour, a woman smiling on a swing, a man making funny faces into his front-facing lens. When removed from the context of Instagram, they’re jarring. But ultimately, “plandids” from Chernobyl say less about any imagined wave of rude influencers “flocking” to the site and more about the shifting norms around how people document their lives and experiences on Instagram. While some critics might still view the posts as distasteful and insensitive, most of these users are all trying to say the same thing: I was here.

Search Interest

External References