Sudan and the Instagram Tragedy Hustle
The Sudan Meal Project and similar accounts claim to be helping—but they’re really just a ploy to get more followers.
As the political crisis in Sudan deepens, Instagram users are flocking to accounts that claim to be helping. @SudanMealProject, the largest of these accounts, racked up nearly 400,000 followers in less than a week; it is joined by hundreds of similar accounts with copycat names such as @SudanMealProjectOfficial, @SudanMealOfficial, @sudan.meals.project, @mealsforsudan, and @Sudanmealprojec.t, each of which has amassed tens of thousands of followers.
“We’re committed to donating up to 100,000 meals to Sudanese civilians,” @SudanMealProject’s read. The account’s only promised, “For every STORY REPOST this post gets, we will provide one meal to Sudanese children, and
