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Rabat – As the tragic story of 5-year-old Rayan Oram gained worldwide attention, many people and websites took advantage of the heartbreaking situation to make profit off the child’s plight.
A website has launched a range of t-shirts, baseball caps, and other accessories with the effigy of the Moroccan child, whose death was announced on February 5 shortly after he was pulled out of a 32-meter well where he was stuck for five days.
The clothing items feature slogans such as “Save Rayan” and “Be strong Rayan.” The clothes displayed are worn by smiling models and contain photos of the child weakened and trapped in a small space.
On YouTube and Facebook, some other malicious individuals took to social media to share old videos from similar rescue operations, spreading fake news and creating the buzz to increase their social media following and viewership.
As they set out to make cash off the death of little Rayan and the plight of his family, some online platforms have even included paid promotions on their live streams to receive payment while reporting on the tragic story.
In a live stream of an electronic media outlet, an “influencer” started advertising her YouTube channel and content while asking viewers to go and follow her.
Many Moroccans condemned these acts, calling for the people engaging in such cynical behavior to act rationally and show respect to the then trapped boy.
Others who were present at the place of the incident and claimed to be “journalists” violated journalism’s ethical code in their “reporting” about the sad story, prompting Morocco’s National Journalism Council to intervene and call on media outlets to respect journalistic ethics in covering sensitive stories.
The journalism council notably slammed the publishing and sharing of fake news and photos of a blood-stained Rayan at the bottom of the well where he had been trapped for days, saying that such inconsiderate and profit-driven “reporting” turned Rayan’s plight and his family’s grief into a spectacle for boosting online presence and making financial profits.
