Mary Retta, from Paper Magazine, recently wrote an article about “How Should Influencers Act During a Pandemic?”. In the article Retta discusses the weird position of influencers during this unprecedented period where unemployment rates are skyrocketing across the country, and health care and service workers must put themselves in danger every day. Retta explains, “every influencer has their niche, and it might be unfair to expect lifestyle vloggers to suddenly pivot to hyper-political content just to mirror our current climate. Arguably, the more lighthearted content these creators often upload also plays a role in helping subscribers through the pandemic. While some fans are surely itching for corona content that either informs them about the pandemic or assuages their concerns, others may see the internet as an escape from reality and are hoping to view content that has nothing to do with the virus.”
The pro of influencers posting about COVID-19 is a sense of togetherness and relatability it gives their subscribers. It allows them to see how other people are handling quarantine and see that we are all going through the same thing. Posting this content is also transparent and truthful which are important aspects of being an influencer.
The con of influencers posting about COVID-19 is it doesn’t allow for “business-as-usual”. There is a lot of information being pushed out surrounding coronavirus and it can be overwhelming. It is also likely that these influencers are in-fact acknowledging the pandemic, but they simply aren’t curating content surrounding it. Also, I am not sure how much their audience is wanting to hear about COVID-19 from an influencer. They go to them for product recommendations, clothing hauls, and travel vlogs – not political or social issue information. I think it is also important that if influencers are going to address the pandemic then they also need to acknowledge their privilege of still having an income and that they are quarantined in a nice house or apartment. It can feel counterintuitive to see an influencer say “we are all in this together” when they are in a penthouse and homeless people can not find anywhere to sleep.
I don’t think there is a clear ethical solution to this problem. I think we are all adjusting and figuring out a new normal. If an influencer feels like they want to share a day in their life in quarantine, then go for it! But, if they also want to continue like normal then that is fine. I do not think influencers should be reporting facts about COVID-19 as if they are on the news or they are reporters. But, if they want to discuss how it affecting them or how they are handling quarantine then I do not see an issue.
Connection to Media Ethics: Issues and Cases Ninth Edition by Philip Patterson, Lee Wilkins and Chad Painter: In chapter 2, “Information Ethics”, objectivity is discussed in regards to how it relates to journalists. It is a know fact that journalists are primarily “male, Caucasian, well educated, and middle-to-upper class”. These journalists are often asked to cover stories that their life experiences have not prepared them to cover. This can relate to influencers and their response to COVID-19. These primarily white and middle-to-upper class influencers have never experienced something similar to a global pandemic, making their videos feel wrong to watch and support. I think that is why people are being extra critical of influencers deciding to post as normal during this time.
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