A child with skinny arms and a protruding ribcage stares blankly into the camera. A tearful mother holds onto her emaciated baby. A homeless man searches for a place to spend the night. These images instantly evoke strong feelings of sympathy and even guilt; it is hard to resist dialing the number on the screen to make instant donations. Poverty pornography is frequently used by charities and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), effectively encouraging individuals to help those who are desperately in need. However, while such tactics are craftily disguised as genuine altruism, they are simply another form of exploitation.

Poverty pornography refers to any type of exploitative imagery that features extreme examples of poverty. Such images are typically used to arouse strong emotional responses from its viewers, mostly to encourage donations or to raise awareness on a certain issue. Appeals to emotion are extremely effective as people tend to want to help those in need, being social animals with intricate feelings. Accordingly, it is one of the easiest ways for charities to promote donations. The subjects of poverty pornography are usually those in Africa, suffering from extreme poverty and famine.

The most problematic aspect of poverty pornography is how it misrepresents poverty, creating fragmentary stereotypical images. The images used in advertisements do not show “what poverty is like”—they display “what poverty should look like.” Therefore, rather than reflect the truth, poverty pornography aims to find “perfect” examples of poverty that stir particular emotional responses from the audience. Consequently, the public starts to lean toward the notion that Africa is simply defined by poverty and famine. The audience feels empathy, but also a sense of superiority at the same time, believing that Africa will always be wholly dependent on the assistance of wealthier countries such as their own.

Furthermore, although poverty pornography can increase donations, it does not necessarily contribute to real change. Material assistance may provide temporary solutions but cannot solve the fundamental causes of poverty in the long run, which are deeply entrenched in the historical and economic structures of society. Poverty pornography can indeed yield pity and sympathy, but intentionally lacks sufficient information that explains the reason for and depth of the problems they are seeking donations for. Therefore, individuals consuming content featuring one-dimensional aspects of poverty can only be passive recipients instead of true activists.

problem is that certain images used in poverty pornography are taken without the consent of the subjects. Such individuals are not even aware that they are being filmed and that their pictures and videos are aired through television worldwide. Advertisements encouraging donations seem to be helping those featured in them, but are in fact only exploiting the poverty of individuals for the sake of promotion. These images show no respect for the dignity of the individuals. Regardless of its ends, recording the most painful moments of life without consent and using it to objectify their vulnerability cannot be justified.

In the current globalized society, everyone is faced with heavier obligations and burdens as a responsible global citizen. It is critical to be fully aware of issues that require worldwide attention and assistance, such as reducing poverty and resolving humanitarian crises. The misfortune and pains of others are not products that can be commodified or fetishized. What appears to be an act of pure kindness can also be a result of ignorance fueled by a privileged sense of superiority . Hence, simply being aware is not enough; one needs to see the bigger picture beyond the photos that simplify and distort the truth. It is not wealthy donors but altruistic reformers who can create genuine change in the world.