HBO’s latest miniseries Chernobyl has generated a renewed interest for the accident site among people the world over.
If reports by The Washington Post are to be believed, trip bookings to the site for May 2019 skyrocketed by 30% as compared to May 2018.
While the nuclear plant and the adjoining town of Pripyat were opened to tourists in the 1990s, this recent surge in the number of tourists is being attributed to people doing it for Instagram popularity.
Meanwhile in Chernobyl: Instagram influencers flocking to the site of the disaster. pic.twitter.com/LnRukoLirQ
— Bruno Zupan (@komacore) June 9, 2019
If you search for #Chernobyl on Instagram, hundreds of photos of Instagrammers posing in front of the abandoned sites pop up.
This has indeed drawn criticism from several sections of society.
Even the writer of the show, Craig Mazin, has spoken about these inappropriate selfies and asked tourists to show some respect.
It’s wonderful that #ChernobylHBO has inspired a wave of tourism to the Zone of Exclusion. But yes, I’ve seen the photos going around.
— Craig Mazin (@clmazin) June 11, 2019
If you visit, please remember that a terrible tragedy occurred there. Comport yourselves with respect for all who suffered and sacrificed.
Other people on Twitter are also criticising these Instagrammers for their apathy towards the disaster site.
#Instagram influencers? You’re an embarrassment to the world and to pose in #Chernobyl? All this for attention? A total disrespect to those who died and the families concerned. https://t.co/Q5H6X12aGj
— MariaElena 🌷 (@satinelopez1) June 12, 2019
Disrespectful but hardly surprising to find even the site of a nuclear catastrophe isn’t deemed inappropriate for an Instagram influencer to pose seductively in https://t.co/1UHDbg8n02
— Chris King (@chriskking) June 12, 2019
An independent travel agent started advertising trips to Chernobyl in my local FB group recently. She used images from the show to promote her business. Whether it’s safe to attend or not – tragedy porn tourism is irresponsible and really fucking stupid https://t.co/7k0JqqT4vb
— Mielebee (@mielebeep) June 12, 2019
Whether they’re fake or not, these new photos (yes that lingerie shoot in the hazmat suit) from the Chernobyl exclusion zone really raise a lot of questions about how far we’re all willing to go for a quick like… https://t.co/SqZmAZHu3F
— Sophie Gallagher (@SCFGallagher) June 12, 2019
Have you seen all these shitty self loving posts of tourists in #Chernobyl? It’s so disrespectful.
— Jen Goodman (@JennieLGoodman) June 12, 2019
We’ve all done dumb shit. We’ve all done self-absorbed shit. We’ve all been a bit of a dick sometimes.
— 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐜. (@LocalStigmatic) June 12, 2019
But take comfort in the fact that you’ve never been so much of a dumb, self-absorbed dick as to fly to Chernobyl to take some selfies for instagram. pic.twitter.com/Su3jvwmtxZ
While the site is still unfit for habitation, several guided tours are in place which give you a detailed account of what happened on 26th April 1986.
