Social Media Influencer - Uff
I’ve had a series of videos popping up on my social media feeds by a content creator named Nikalie who is doing so-called ‘social experiments’. She pretends to be a mom needing formula with a recording of a baby in the background. Here are two examples of many. Watch before you read on. https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTMsrQGtb/ and https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTMsrvBgb/
You will notice that in the comments, people are outraged. I’m irritated too, but for different reasons. If Nikalie runs across this post, I hope she calls my church because I want to explain that, without knowing it, she is doing more harm than good. I truly think she has good intentions, but she is lacking some context.
The most common thing you will hear in these videos is that the churches refer the Nikalie to a food shelf or other organization that is set up to meet both immediate and long-term needs. Many of the churches explain how they financially support these organizations and partner with them to take referrals. The churches ask Nikalie, “Have you reached out to _____?” She lies over and over, saying they told her to call churches. Here is why that is so detrimental: Nikalie is compromising the relationship between these nonprofit organizations and the churches that support them with thousands of dollars a year. She is completely missing how these nonprofit social service organizations and churches work in tandem to get so much more accomplished than the churches could do individually. The reality is she would likely be able to get 2 cans of formula and groceries at the partner organization. She is doing damage by unknowingly corroding the partnerships.
Most people wonder why the church can’t just dish out the $35 dollars. Well, churches get up to three requests a day. Most are honest people who need help. But sadly, some come from scammers, and these scammers have social media networks. If a church gives cash to one person, it will get triple the number of calls the next week from people miles and miles away. When Nikalie lies in her ‘social experiment,’ she is playing into a stereotype that people who ask for help are scammers and liars. She literally is creating distrust. People in need are up against enough—they don’t need people like Nikalie making it harder during a government shutdown.
Nikalie’s ‘social experiment’ is unethical and, in my view, not worthy of being called an experiment. I can tell you, in most cases, a volunteer or underpaid staff person with a huge heart is on the other end of the phone. Most of these folks have been told not to give out of their own pockets. When not on the job, I’m confident many of them would gladly buy the formula. I actually can hear the anxiety in some of their voices. Here is what is running through their heads: “I want to help. This feels like a different kind of ask. But I should stick to the protocol.” This ‘social experiment’ would never get through any review board because it plays on the emotions of people without their consent. That’s unethical.
In one of her videos, Nikalie asks, “Do you know what your
church is doing with your donations?” Now,
I’m sure a few of these churches don’t have robust mission generosity. But for most of them, the answer would be ….
Yes, we do know where the donations go. Many,
many, many churches are supporting organizations and partners equipped at
social service work, who can triple the dollar in services and support for
mothers who need formula for their babies. Do you know how we know it is being put to
good use? Because we have volunteers up
there working on rotation. I encourage
Nikalie stop making phone calls and use that time to volunteer alongside the
church people at a food shelf.
Postscript: For my own church people, I want to be clear on how we handle this. Your staff talks about this a lot, and they take requests weekly, sometimes daily. Thanks to your BTH giving, they offer a gift card to a store/gas and refer the person to our local food shelf who we support with volunteers and financial gifts. If it was a larger request, the office person would refer the person to the pastors. Yet even with a solid process, our office volunteers and staff can feel the stress in their caring hearts. I’m grateful for the people who answer these calls.
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