"Full of love to our Australian friends", "hoping that this image can inspire a few more people to take action"…. On social networks, images of burning forests or thirsty koalas in Australia are driving up the aid pools after the huge fires.
Australian actress Celeste Barber, who launched an online kitty on Facebook on January 3 to help firefighters in her country facing forest fires, has already raised more than 30 million euros in donations from around the world, according to the social network of over 1.2 million people.
"I made a story on Instagram because I was in shock"
Influential figures from French social media brandished silhouettes of the burnt Australian territory or photos of kangaroos to question the disaster. “I made a story on Instagram because I was in shock. I was also asked a lot how to act, so I referred to official institutions so that the money arrived in the right place, "explains Léa Camilleri, 32, 515,000 subscribers on YouTube, 353,000 on Instagram. Amandine Lugnier also shared with her 22,300 subscribers tracks to help Australian relief. A hundred of them have opened links to the Celeste Barber or Red Cross prize pools.
Craftsmen and creators, widely represented on the social network Instagram, have also offered to donate all or part of their profits to help Australia. The designer Laetitia Dalbies has for example made crochet koalas which she offers for sale on her account, mentioning that half of the sale will go to an Australian conservation association: "It was crazy, everything is gone in a few hours and I received dozens of messages from people who wanted to know how to help me. ”
"Keyboard activism doesn't stop at" like ""
"Keyboard activism does not stop at" like ", the indignation is real", comments Tristan Mendès-France, associate professor at the University of Paris, specialist in digital cultures. "The user of social networks has the impression that it is someone close who shares his indignation with him, and the relay therefore has an unprecedented force," he describes.
To explain the success of this mobilization, Tristan Mendès-France also insists on the content of the exchanges: "The images of spectacular flames or koalas in danger, are the pull bar of this commitment". "These videos have had audiences on social networks that are far from what the traditional media can envisage," added the teacher.
The issue of global warming is also very promising on social networks according to journalist Charlotte Hervot, author of the “Little Survival Guide on Instagram”. "In France, three-quarters of Instagram's audience is under 35, and the issue of environmental protection speaks to them," explains the author. "It's a generation that has already had an awareness, which is ready to commit, a bit like Greta Thunberg and its more than 9 million subscribers" she continues, "for them, it's very easy to mobilize by sharing information or a video. ”
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