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Journalism of Courage
A model in the US raised over $100,000 for victims of the Australian bushfires by offering nude selfies on Instagram in exchange for donations. However, it also resulted in her Instagram account being deactivated.
The model, 20-year-old Kaylen Ward, recently announced on Twitter that she would be sending nude selfies to those who donate $10 or more to an organisation working to help those affected by the fires. She also posted a list of organisations that were working towards assisting victims of the fire.
The list included NSW Rural Fire Service, Victorian Country Fire Service, Red Cross and various koala hospitals across the nation.
Within a day of the post, Ward says she received 20,000 messages in her inbox that contained receipts for confirmed donations.
Ward, who calls herself ‘The Naked Philanthropist’ on various social media platforms, said she was motivated by the various pictures and videos that showed the impact of the fires.
Ward told Daily Mail that despite her efforts, there were several people who were distributing her nudes for free. She also found that many people were using fake receipts to get pictures. However, there were people who also contributed generously to the cause. “Someone sent me $5,000, so I’m sending 50 pics and videos,” Ward said on Twitter.
However, on Instagram, where the model had around 50,000 followers, she ended up getting her account deactivated. Instagram said it had deactivated her account for violating guidelines. According to Daily Mail, Ward started a new account while she works on getting back her original account.
Here’s how people reacted to her unique scheme to raise money:
https://twitter.com/AbFromMars/status/1213509311441375232
https://twitter.com/mayhem911live/status/1213567858350985221
https://twitter.com/cloxic/status/1213392110579138560
https://twitter.com/macaronip0ny/status/1213320743179542528
https://twitter.com/ashleyaleighxxx/status/1213284271739133953
https://twitter.com/edesmua/status/1213350122379042823
Australian officials took advantage of better weather on Monday to reopen roads blocked by wildfires and move some people to safety although thick smoke stalled rescue efforts and hundreds of people remained stranded.
Fires have ravaged more than 8 million hectares (19.8 million acres) of land across the country, an area nearly the size of Austria, killing 25 people, destroying thousands of building and leaving some towns without electricity and mobile coverage.
