Author Lina Srivastava addresses the potentially harmful effects of “poverty porn” and its place in advertising upon a general public poised to give aid.

The website Unite for Sight defines poverty porn as “words and images that elicit an emotional response by their sheer shock value. Images like starving, skeletal children covered in flies…” that exploit “the poor’s condition in order to generate the necessary sympathy for selling newspapers or increasing charitable donations or support for a given cause.”

The use of media, film, and design has burgeoned in the social impact fields. There are numerous examples of effective, innovative uses of image to communicate or drive social impact—which should be encouraged and built into program design. But there are just as many ways poverty porn has increased and morphed into new forms of manipulation.

Check out the full piece here, and check out these links to additional articles discussing the sensationalism by the media.

Regarding Humanity, which attempts to remedy poverty porn and other forms of victimization, is a space for social impact professionals, designers, filmmakers, journalists, and students to foster dialogue on respectful, relevant, and resonant storytelling. They foster commentary and debate through their three frameworks: see, listen, and frame. Check out their blog and case studies to learn more about what they do and how they help.