Influencer under fire for video on crowded migrant boat: ‘As if it was a beautiful ride’

Two Tunisian influencers have been criticized for posting the crossing with an overcrowded migrant boat on their social media and making it seem like a fun trip. Shaima Ben Mahmoud, 21, recently posted the video on TikTok. You see how she and her fiancé crossed 23 migrants. Meanwhile, there is music and they are having fun.

In November, 18-year-old TikTok star Sabi Al-Saeedi showed it off with a similar video that made it look like it was a fun ride. This is exactly what causes a lot of criticism. According to the Missing Migrants Projects, 23,000 people have gone missing in the Mediterranean since 2014.

Influential experts charge that their videos “normalize risky transit and can inspire others to try it too”. After the crossing video, the two also posted pictures of themselves in different European cities, driving a BMW.

“This gives stunned immigrants a wrong picture of life in Europe,” is the criticism. Meanwhile, Ben Mahmoud responded. She told the Associated Press that she had no future in Tunisia and was struggling to earn enough money as a hairdresser to buy her food and a bus ticket. For example, she said she was forced to cross and called a friend who arranged a spot on the boat for $1,560.

(CSN)