Fake Social Media Activism Is Hurting Real Sudanese Advocacy Efforts

Sudanese citizens are in the midst of a crisis. Immediately after the overthrow of President Omar al-Bashir in April, the country’s Transitional Military Council (TMC) currently holds governmental control. Over 100 people have been killed, the government has enforced a complete Internet blackout, the capitol has shut off in protest, and activists and allies are mobilizing to signal-boost the conflict and prompt world leaders to act.


Although some Instagram accounts have been accused of taking advantage of the civil unrest group in attempt to increase more followers.


Last week, people across social media platforms turned their profile photographs blue to raise awareness about the continuous humanitarian crisis. On the surface, several activists thought this was a fantastic idea — and took part in it themselves, asking their followers to follow suit. Hashtags like #BlueForSudan started trending on Twitter, a nod meant to honor Mohamed Hashim Mattar, a 26-year-old who was allegedly shot and killed by the Sudanese paramilitary Rapid Support Forces throughout a crackdown on the nation’s capital, Khartoum, on June 3. Amnesty International Australia mentioned on Twitter that blue was Mattar’s preference color.


“I think it's brought a lot of attention to Sudan,” Mark Hackett, the executive director of Operation Damaged Silence, a nonprofit that supports programs Sudan's war-torn regions, told MTV News of the social media movement surrounding the Sudanese crisis. “It's also unfortunately brought some misinformation.”


Hackett says the blue profile photographs are beginning people’s eyes to the crisis in Sudan, a country that has been rocked by civil unrest and genocide for decades. However as soon as something like this starts gaining so much attention on social media, “there are people out there that [will] attempt to use that for their own gain,” Hackett said.


One account in particular — @SudanMealProject — gained nearly 400,000 followers on Instagram in far less than a week, before Instagram removed it for violating its policies.


“We’re devoted to donating up to 100,000 meals to Sudanese civilians,” the account’s bio read, according to the Atlantic (the account has since been taken down). The only post read, “For every STORY REPOST this blog post gets, we'll allocate one meal to Sudanese children, and also you can assist spread awareness on what’s happening in Sudan.”


The account didn’t mention how they would give the meals to Sudanese children. It didn’t explain if it was a recognized aid corporation. It was purportedly preying on people who wanted to help; someone who was logged into account instructed them Atlantic, “What I am acquiring is followers and exposure,” yet did not fancy on how the account would give meals to Sudanese people in need.


@SudanMealProject wasn’t the only account try to take control of the narrative for its personalized gain: there were dozens of fake accounts with similar names, and, while several of these have been taken down, some still remain up. According to CNN and an analysis on the Wayback Machine, one account named @sudanmealprojected amassed 10,200 followers before changing its name to @naughty.Jokes_/ and sharing only memes (it has since been taken down). @Sudanese.Meal.Project is still live, without posts accessible and over 8,000 followers. Its highlight reels are full of streetwear fashion.


Instagram found, which is why the agency removed the account, and others, for violating its policies.


“We are continuing to look into this matter, and we already disabled a couple of accounts we noticed in violation of our policies,” Stephanie Otway, the communications manager for Instagram told MTV News in a statement.


Still, the recent uprising of social accounts exploiting humanitarian efforts scares people who are actually running verified nonprofits.


“For people who have been scammed, or are they visualize a lot of scams online, they tend to just walk away,” Hackett mentioned. “Not just on this offer, although on a lot of issues. So that's the only bit of a headache for us because we have to constantly speak out and mention, ‘Hey, we're here. We're here to help, and this is what we do. Do you desire to get involved with us? That's fantastic. Do you hope to on something else? That's wonderful also. You need to be aware that there's people out there that are attempting to use us for their own gain.’” According to Hackett, those with the ability to can donate time or cash to verified nonprofits, like Operation Damaged Silence, Save the Children, UNICEF, and the International Rescue Committee.


All the while, turmoil rages on in Sudan. And as Sudanese aesthetics influencer Shahd Khidir told Teen Vogue, “It’s key to spread awareness. It’s critical to tell each person what’s going on. Considering fact that The world wide web is fully blacked out, the Sudanese people have no connection with the outdoor world. So we have to connect them and spread intelligence about their struggles.” It’s also essential to vet the corporations that claim to be helping, so that you know your support is directed at the correct place.