About that viral AI 'ALL EYES ON RAFAH' photo

I promise I'm not being cynical, it's just...

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About that viral AI 'ALL EYES ON RAFAH' photo

There’s no denying that it’s been a fraught time on the internet for the past few months - it’s had a very 'damned if you do, damned if you don’t’ vibe to it, and people have been… very bad at giving each other grace. Now, I’m not about to write another think piece about how people should be using their platforms vs what they might be doing in their real lives because I already did that here.

Instead, I just want to talk quickly about the incredibly viral ‘ALL EYES ON RAFAH’ photo I saw on literally EVERYONE’S story yesterday.

I wouldn’t be doing my job well if I didn’t first tell you why this photo is being shared so much. Currently, as many as 1.4 million people are seeking shelter after having to flee from violent fighting in Rafah, Gaza —as Israel continues its relentless offensive there.

Since we became aware of this latest atrocity I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it, and that’s in large part thanks to the fact that everyone - from celebrities to old workmates - were sharing this image to their stories. I’m lucky (is that the right word? Who cares) that, because of my job, I’d already read up about what was going on in Rafah, so I had context to the photo and was already caring about what was going on, but I can imagine that for others, this was another Black Squares for Black Lives Matter moment - an easy chance to show you care, without having to do more than tap your finger a few times.

Performative activism is always clunky - maybe it can be good, I guess, if awareness is the goal. It gets a bit clunkier when the image that’s being shared to spread awareness is AI-generated. And I get it - maybe it has less of a chance of being censored because it’s AI (this is not fact-checked, just a theory), but it’s also like - we literally have people like Bisan who have been risking their lives to report on what’s going on over there and we’re not gonna make something of hers go viral??

I really don’t want to come off as a negative nancy, I just feel like it’s my job to be #extemelyonline and when I see things like this gaining traction I like to look into them!! Now, stop thinking about me - think about Rafah thanks!!! xxx

If you wanna help:

• Doctors Without Borders

• Save The Children

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Meanwhile, Nikki Haley is the worst

Honestly, you couldn’t make this shit up:

Nikki Haley - who’s running for literal President over in the US - wrote ‘Finish Them!’ on an Israeli artillery shell.

“Her shell-signing activities came at a time when Israel is engaged in a devastating military offensive in Gaza that has so far killed more than 36,000 Palestinians, an estimated 15,000 of them children.” - The Guardian

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