HBO ‘Chernobyl’ Creator Shames Influencers For These Chernobyl Pictures

HBO’s new ‘Chernobyl’ series seems to have reawoken interest in this terrible disaster that happened back in 1986. Now, this doesn’t sound too bad – after all, there’s nothing wrong about deepening your knowledge in history. However, some people – especially influencers – are seeing the latest ‘Chernobyl hype’ as an opportunity to take some Instagram worthy pictures, completely disregarding the tragedy that happened there years earlier. Unsurprisingly, this did not sit too well with the creators of the miniseries.

Craig Mazin, the creator of the ‘Chernobyl’ miniseries, tweeted an important message for those visiting the Zone of Exclusion

There is even a term to describe this sudden flow of tourists – it’s called disaster tourism, the practice of visiting locations at which an environmental disaster, either natural or man-made, has occurred. Some people do not seem to grasp the morbid reality of the places they are visiting. They are not simply places where you can take a nice selfie – they’re places where people died, places where loved ones were lost. And we’re not just talking about Chernobyl – people do the same thing in the Auschwitz concentration camp and at the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin.

Many people did not like the influencers’ location choices

It almost looks like every influencer now needs to have a picture taken in Chernobyl

Most of the influencers in the photos don’t seem to see Chernobyl as anything more than a place where you can snap a cool pic.

Over 50,000 Pripyat residents had to leave their homes in a rush, leaving most of their belongings behind. That certainly doesn’t sound like a place where you should be taking half-naked pictures of yourself for Instagram. But clearly, the influencers don’t seem to be bothered by this fact in the slightest.

Now, we’re not saying you shouldn’t go there – all we’re asking is to try and stay respectful.

Many people criticized the so-called influencers

Aušrys Uptas

One day, this guy just kind of figured - “I spend most of my time on the internet anyway, why not turn it into a profession?” - and he did! Now he not only gets to browse the latest cat videos and fresh memes every day but also shares them with people all over the world, making sure they stay up to date with everything that’s trending on the web. Some things that always pique his interest are old technologies, literature and all sorts of odd vintage goodness. So if you find something that’s too bizarre not to share, make sure to hit him up!