Charity porn needs to be left in 2018

There’s nothing dishonourable about celebrities wanting to help the less fortunate, but when it’s combined with likes, followers and endorsements, it becomes exploitation, writes Michelle Andrews.

It’s hard to scroll through a social media feed without big, fat egos exploding at your fingertips.

Where narcissism used to ooze from selfies of plumped-up lips and designer logos, it’s snaked its way around photographs of shiny high-end cars and glittering inground pools before reaching its latest destination. Now, it’s hidden behind something else entirely: charity porn.

At first glance, these ‘random’ acts of kindness documented for the world to see feel wholesome. Look at this poor person, the influencer coos to their audience of millions. Now look at how fantastically I help them.

One of the earliest acts of this self-promotional selflessness came early last year when Shane Dawson, a YouTuber with more than 19 million followers, posted a video in early 2018 titled ‘BUYING MY HATER A CAR’. In it, Dawson surprised an online troll with a shiny new Jeep.

“Somebody made a video about me on the internet, where they called me awful… so I’m going to buy them a car,” he told a rather confused car salesman. “I need a black Jeep, new.”

The top comment on the video reads, “Shane is the kindest human on Earth.”

Similarly, ‘Donating $100,000 To A Random Streamer’ — a video published by gaming giant MrBeast in August 2018, has been watched more than 21 million times. It’s now become something of a trend on his account; in the last 12 months MrBeast has also gone viral for videos like ‘I tipped waitresses $20,000’ and ‘I gave $20,000 to random homeless people’.

Youtuber Shane Dawson filmed himself gifting a new Jeep to one of his "haters". Source: YouTube

More locally, Myer ambassador and former contestant on The Block Elyse Knowles filmed herself giving fruit to a homeless man on her Instagram Story in December, his face and exposed belly broadcast to 900,000 people in the process. A week later, she filmed the exchange again, this time putting two apples on the ground and promising, ‘Next time I’ll have change’.

Around the same time, Davina Rankin — a reality TV contestant from Channel 9’s Married At First Sight — boasted to her 300,000 followers about buying a needy person a cup of coffee.

MORE FROM MICHELLE ANDREWS: Where’s the reality in these reality star breakups?

This week charity porn officially peaked when U.S. bloggers Austin McBroom and Catherine Paiz of the infamous ‘Ace Family’ pressed publish on a video titled ‘Starting off the New Year giving away $100,000!!!’. Unsurprisingly, their 14 million fans lapped it up.

The Gucci ensembles and flashy cars the pair are known for haven’t gone anywhere, of course. They’re tucked neatly into the shot, as always, while Austin discusses the terms and conditions of winning the ultimate give away. Two weeks before releasing the donation video, McBroom and Paiz uploaded another video, this time titled, ‘Wrapping our Lamborghini with Christmas lights!!! *Never been done before*’.

So brave. So giving.

Elyse Knowles handing a homeless man some fruit while filming him. Picture: Instagram

In December, Elyse Knowles shared a video of her giving food to a homeless man. Picture: Three60 Management

There’s a reason charity porn is the new trend pouring into our feeds — it’s good business. Because like many transactional dealings, YouTubers and Instagram influencers aren’t only doing this stuff to be good and kind. They’re also doing it because it gets clicks, views, follows, and, eventually, huge advertising revenue. Dawson’s Jeep video, for instance, was funded by Dollar Shave Club. For whatever reason, thrusting a camera into the faces of the less fortunate cuts through those tricky algorithms in a way that Ask Me Anythings and makeup tutorials can’t anymore.

MORE FROM MICHELLE ANDREWS: Ultra Tune doesn’t deserve women’s business

Oh, and let’s not forget charity porn makes the influencers themselves look like #Gandhi. (Only exponentially more viral and tech-savvy. And better dressed. And with nicer cars. And multimillion-dollar houses.)

It’s now the hot trend to tell as many people as possible — as often as possible — about your charity work. Forget trees and abandoned forests, because influencers are now grappling with a new conundrum: if you choose to donate to a homeless man on the street and don’t film the exchange, did it really happen?

Spoiler alert: it still counts.

Earlier this month, Youtubers The Ace Family announced they would giveaway USD$100,000 to one of their followers. Picture: Youtube

Because if you’re doing it for self-gain and profit, it’s not really ‘charity’, is it? You can, indeed, do good things without broadcasting them to the world. You can do them without violating the privacy and dignity of vulnerable people. You can do good without making yourself the crux of the storyline. You can do good and be selfless, simultaneously.

For the most part, audiences like and subscribe to this content uncritically. People in their teens and twenties massage these influencers’ god complexes. It’s no surprise the millennial generation is labelled as self-indulged by those older than us.

This year the ones we should be celebrating are those around us, who keep their heads down and their phones in their pockets. The ones who seek to make the world an ever-so-slightly better place without a thirst for attention and virality.

Those who do good things not because they want a pat on the back, but because they simply want to be good.

Michelle Andrews is a freelance writer and podcast host from Melbourne.