The story of the photos of alleged influencers of Instagram at Chernobyl

The recent audience success of the miniseries
Chernobyl, based on the worst nuclear accident in history, has put the Ukrainian city at the center of the world's attention. The factory as well as the surroundings of the settlement and the ruins of the city of Pripyat have become
the new points of interest of tourists who want to cross a space where time seems to have
arrested on April 26, 1986.

And in this context, a Twitter post has been commissioned to challenge some publications made by visitors to the nuclear disaster zone on Instagram. A young woman next to an abandoned vehicle, another inside the control center with mask and helmet, a radiation counter with the bottom plant and a model posing half naked with the ruins of the city in the background. "Meanwhile in Chernobyl: Instagram influencers visit the disaster area," said Bruno Zupan on his Twitter account with screenshots of publications.

What is true behind this publication, which had more than 41,000 "likes" and 11,000 "retweets"? "The premise of this tweet is false and generates misinformation,"
said Taylor Lorenz, a reporter for The Atlantic, after making contact with the authors of Instagram posts.

"I do not consider myself an influencer, Chernobyl has had a huge impact on my life and that's why I posted my impressions on Instagram," said Irene Vivch, a Ukrainian photographer consulted by Lorenz. For its part, the photo of the Geiger counter with the huge cement sarcophagus of the wounded nuclear power plant is a new publication of an old photo.
which circulates on the Internet since 2010.

The third photo is that of an influencer named Julia Baessler, who had the opportunity to access the interior of the facility. "My boyfriend is an engineer and we were able to visit the control room, which is not accessible to the public.We wanted to share these stories with the rest of the world because this is an area where only the scientists and researchers have access, "says the author. publication to the journalist of The Atlantic.

After the repercussion that had the tweet, with comments reflecting indignation at the supposed insensitivity of the authors of these photos, Zupan
he had to clarify his publication"I do not wish anyone any harm, I do not want them to act like a gangster, no matter what is posted on Instagram, no one gives you the right to attack them."

The Atlantic journalist said that these photos were widely criticized and that some considered them insensitive regardless of the context of their authors. "Some of those people mentioned in the tweet just want to tell their story with the place"
says Lorenz on the controversy over photos published in Chernobyl. In fact, viewing Chernobyl and Pripyat-based photos and videos does not reveal a barrage of insensitive instagrammer publications.

"Of course, some are unpleasant and unresponsive," said Lorenz, identifying a user under the nickname.
@ nz.nik, the only photo that has no explanation for a semi-bad pose in the middle of the ruins of Pripryat.