The Kensington neighborhood in Philadelphia is one of the most brutally obvious signs of America’s public health crisis. The so-called “open air drug market” in the middle of the country’s sixth most populous city is where hundreds of people use drugs, some of whom are unhoused, usually without being arrested by the police. It is a failure of our health care system, our cities, and our drug enforcement policies on public display.
For some, it’s also a content farm, where they turn other people’s misery into engagement and profit.
As I am writing this, 675 people are watching a YouTube livestream from a channel called USALIVESTREAM of a camera that is panning back and forth over the corner of Kensington Avenue and East Allegheny, where there’s a SEPTA train station that people congregate around. As is normal on YouTube, to the right of the video is a chat where viewers can talk to each other, and pay to post stickers and “super chats,” highlighted messages that cost as much as $500. The revenue generated from this chat is split between YouTube and the YouTube channel owner. YouTube and the channel owner also make money via pre-roll ads viewers have to watch before the video starts. It is a live version of a growing trend, mostly on YouTube and TikTok, where people make videos of people in distress, specifically in Kensington.
The dire situation at Kensington is such that the live feed is always capturing multiple people who are clearly in distress, slumped over while they’re standing, asleep in camping chairs, or using drugs. None appear to be aware they are being filmed and exploited as a form of entertainment.
read more: https://www.404media.co/youtube-is-monetizing-the-suffering-of-an-open-air-drug-market/
Finally someone is noticing this.
I report this garbage every time it gets recommended to me on YT, which is way too often. These are real human beings going through the most difficult and humiliating experiences of their lives.
One thing that’s always overlooked about homelessness is the complete, total, utter lack of any privacy whatsoever. It seems obvious when you say it out loud, but no one seems to acknowledge it. Imagine every bad day you have, you have an audience. When you wake up in the morning after a shit night of sleep, everyone gets to walk by you, judge you, and gawk at how shitty you look. I’m sure not everyone in these videos is homeless (likely fewer than people would automatically assume), but probably a significant enough number.
The fact that there is anyone out there who believes treating people like they’re in a zoo and then profiting off of their suffering for “entertainment” is an actual, unfeeling psychopath.
The worst part is that there are a bunch of channels like this and even more videos. They’re not limited to addiction but exploit any marginalized people they can. I blame Vice for having constant drug/addiction content with no real message besides “watch this person shoot up for some reason. No, we’re not blurring their face.” Wtf.