Recently, a viral video of an alleged explicit video featuring social media personality Imsha Rehman has created outrage around the world. In what may be the first of many, the video showing what appears to be Imsha with a friend has sparked discussions on privacy violations and ethics on social media personalities.
Soon after, the video went viral across social media platforms, slammed by users who lambasted the ‘forceful’ invasion of Imsha’s privacy. The role of influencers in bringing awareness to such breaches only illuminates the vulnerability of living photo personalities to domestic violations of privacy and the absence of types of security that might thwart such crimes directed at individuals, particularly influencers.
The intense line of criticism and negative attention from the video pushed Imsha to deactivate her Instagram and TikTok accounts. But her decision reinforces how wearing such an outfit carries such a toll and how there are few choices for influencers who find themselves in the public eye and under the microscope once a leak like this happens.
After the video circulated, activists and social media users took to the streets demanding the removal of the video and a more empathetic and compassionate public response.
Whilst these voices highlight an opportunity to take seriously how the leaking or forced offering of content can have a long tail on the mental health and wellbeing of people involved, it does not reduce the responsibility of those who post it.
Imsha shared what that was like and how she has faced the simple realities of being an internet personality in today’s digital world.
However, this is not an isolated incident. Earlier, another TikTok influencer, Minahil Malik, was in a similar place when an alleged video of her went viral on social media. Both underscore the importance of greater privacy protection for social media users, especially social media influencers, who are frequently attacked because they are known.
