For many fans, celebrating their idol's birthday has become a habit. There are even many fan groups that create very special parties or activities to celebrate their idols' birthdays.
One of them includes hiring a group of people from other countries like Bangladesh or Africa to send birthday video messages to idols. However, this form was recently reported by the BBC that it could be another form of rαcιsm, even a kind of “poverty p0rn".
Below is the information provided and issues related to this form:
When celebrating their idols' birthdays, fans often look for memorable and symbolic ways. Many people are used to seeing large-scale advertisements on buildings and buses or finding fun ways to attract the attention of their idols in the media.
But there is a new trend on Tiktok that you may not know: video messages on major Tiktok accounts. For example, on accounts like World Surprise Video and greetingsfromafrica, fans can pay to have a group of people from Africa share a special video message, like these two videos for Jungkook of BTS and Tzuyu of TWICE.
According to the website Greetingsfromafrica, their team collaborates with others in “third countries like Africa and Bangladesh” to find local dancers and artists to create comedic content (note: Africa not a country). The website also claims that partners receive a fair share of the profits.
However, similar videos in the past have surprised many people and even led to the BBC stepping in to investigate what was hidden behind it. Finally, a ṩḧöċḳing and disappointing result was discovered.
In 2022, BBC Africa shared a documentary after a viral video of a group of African children being instructed to call themselves black monsters with low IQs was shared online. Before their debut on TikTok, message videos were popular on Chinese social media platforms, and the video inspired such outrage in chínα and other locations that an investigation was launched into the man producing the content.
The reporter on the case, Runako Celina, interviewed a former “child star” named Bright, who appeared in the videos and shared he was whipped with a stick for making mistakes. An undercover operative on the case exposed the harmful and яα¢ιѕт thoughts of the person responsible for the videos, who even claimed “all black people steal.” Ultimately, after this documentary was shared, a Chinese national named Lu Ke was convicted of multiple charges, including trafficking.
The specific site offered greeting videos similar to those available now, leading to renewed concern over the individuals who appear in the videos. Several sites with videos available do not provide any background beyond the pricing and selection.
And while it is not clear if these individuals are being fairly paid, some have expressed these clips play into яα¢ιѕт stereotypes instead of highlighting the cultures and are “poverty p0rn”. Obviously, these things make celebrating an idol's birthday meaningless, and even help bad guys take advantage of poor children or poor people in underdeveloped countries.
Even though there are sites like Fivverr where you can buy messages directly from anyone selling them, many people online recommend researching this trend before buying videos. In general, there are many ways to celebrate an idol's birthday and you should consider carefully when using the above kind of celebration!
