Personalization

Often when celebrities post on their social media platforms to promote awareness of the California Wildfire, there is a sense of personalization in their posts. Rather than shedding light on all who were suffering from the tragedy, their posts were tailored to their suffering or neglected any mention of the fire at all. Using Instagram stories was a common way to shed light on what the celebrities were witnessing. Instagram was used as an effective tool used to promote awareness, as celebrities used their influence on their mass audiences to show live updates on the damages. The problem with these updates is that some celebrity platforms were not being used to promote helpful prevention methods. 

Instagram influencer Sofia Richie posted a selfie of her during the fire, without any relation to the crisis. Richie received backlash following her post as viewers believed her content was ignoring the fire and its catastrophic effects. An example of a celebrity who used their platform to personalize the tragedy is Kim Kardashian. Amidst the fire, Kardashian posted a variety of content that related to what she was experiencing, followed by updates on her safety. One Instagram story was a photo that Kim had taken of the fire, captioned, “Pray for Calabasas. Just landed back home and had 1 hour to pack up & evacuate our home. I pray everyone is safe”. This post is influential in raising awareness of the reality of the fire, as she mentions having to evacuate her home. Unfortunately, the promotion of sending prayers can also be viewed as content that lacks resources to prevent the fire. While prayers promote hope, they also can be viewed as words that are not ensuing action. Another Instagram story was a photo of her kissing her niece, captioned, “Trying to get my mind off of this fire and snuggling with my niece. We are all safe and that is all that matters.” The post may appear heartfelt but it lacks empathy for all of the others who were suffering. The safety of her family would be of most importance to Kim, however, by posting that her and her family’s safety is all that matters, the well-being of every other family in danger remains un-promoted and unrecognized. 

Personalized celebrity content amidst the California Wildfire was common and allowed for light to be shed on the devastating results of the tragedy. Unfortunately, if celebrities did not promote the fire, they would receive backlash. However, if celebrities did use their platform to promote social activism, it often came across as ineffective as content can appear as self-oriented and unrelated to social activism. Consequently, the promotion of the crisis on social media allowed for controversy no matter the content.