In April, when the 13th century roof of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris caught fire, the internet was inconsolable. Instagram was inundated with thoughts, prayers and vacation photos of people visiting the monument, with heartfelt captions lamenting what the church means to them. Billions quickly poured in from celebrities and luxury corporations promising to help rebuild the iconic structure and headlines stacked up about how long it would take to rebuild. But during this time, Omar al-Bashir, the president of the northeast African country of Sudan had been overthrown and replaced by one of the leaders of the ongoing genocide of Darfur — and the international community had relatively little to say on the subject. But now, celebrities including Naomi Campbell, musician Jidenna and Chris Rock are turning their Instagram profile pictures blue in solidarity — #BlueForSudan.
But why the blue profile picture swap? The reason for the change is two-fold. Firstly, the colour blue was the favourite colour of Mohamed Mattat a Sudanese pro-democracy demonstrator, who was killed while trying to protect two women, according to Al Jazeera. Secondly, the colour swap highlights our willingness to follow the moves of influencers, rather than the complexities of political struggles. When virtual influencer @lilmiquela went blue yesterday, it was accompanied by a meme about “Selective Empathy” — highlighting how the media picks and chooses what it condemns and supports.
Since the 3 June crackdown on pro-democracy protestors, the body count has risen into the triple figures as a militia known as Rapid Support Forces have moved across the Sudanese capital of Khartoum, torturing, raping and killing civilians — UN reports saying that there is a ripple effect going through the countryside where more than 200 people have been killed and injured in the past three months during the transition. It is difficult to know what is happening in the country right now, because troops have shut down the media.
Sudanese beauty influencer Shahd Khidir, who currently lives in New York, shared a post about the realities of just hearing that your friend was killed, not knowing where other loved ones are and sitting in the dark, hoping citizens are OK. But she also highlighted how odd it is to talk about a serious subject like this on social media, a place where people come for makeup tips and memes.
“I am sorry to all companies I am running campaigns with but my editorial calendar is currently on pause,” she said in an Instagram post last week. “To my followers/supporters who this is too much for I am also sorry but my regularly scheduled content/reviews is also on pause. If this offends you, I am sorry. But I need to speak out and share this in a time like this. If you want to support me please share this information as widely as possible and don’t be silent.”
While talking about things on social media and changing your profile picture doesn’t directly help the people in Sudan, it does help to spread an awareness that puts pressure on governments who are in a position to do something to act. So far, it’s working. Influencer voices have brought the issue to many outlets that generally do not even cover hard news, ourselves included.
It isn’t wrong to feel passionate about a monument, but if being upset has the power to generate millions of dollars, then getting upset about Sudan isn’t a bad idea.