Four white women tourists, presumably on vacation, were caught taking pictures of African children, sparking outrage from many over "the audacity."
The viral TikTok, captioned, "#no #pleasedon't #wow #africa," has been viewed 4 million times and liked over 347,000 times since it was shared on March 3.
The 21-second clip posted by user @benchutta is accompanied by music as the TikToker films four women staring at a young child by a fruit stand on the roadway in Africa. Some of the women had their phones out taking pictures about 6 feet away.
"Please don't do this when you travel to Africa," reads the onscreen text.
After another child comes over and stands next to the first, all four women get their phones out to snap pictures of the kids seemingly without the consent of their parents. Some of the women even crouch down, while one waves at the children as they take photos.
Another woman gets even closer for a better shot before the video ends. TikTok users are slamming the tourists taking pictures of the kids, calling the event dehumanizing for the children involved.
The number of visitors from the U.S. to Africa in December 2019 amounted to 58,660 people, according to Statista. That's an increase from the previous month when 36,980 people visited the continent.
Many couldn't believe the women would take pictures of kids in such a way. "No one should take pictures of anybody's children without their permission," one user pointed out.
One person thought the women were taking pictures of the fruit at first glance "because I didn't see the kids to the right... How embarrassing," they said. "The audacity!"
Others didn't mince words over the situation. "This is so dehumanizing," a TikToker explained. "Let them sell in peace Omg."
Some people imagined what the women were probably thinking. "Ah yes, poor kids," a TikToker said. "My IG is gonna love this."
Racism was even brought up in the comments. "This kind of racism is the most infuriating because it's dressed up as compassion," a TikToker said.
While some people had disapproving comments like, "Why am I not surprised," and, "My mouth dropped. Omg what?"
The term "white savior" was also called into question. "Dehumanizing, racist, and white savior-ish s**t," a TikToker wrote about the situation.
However, not everyone was against the women's actions. "Why are y'all crying?" a viewer wondered. "The kids look tiny and cute, of course they would want to take a picture, don't assume."
Newsweek reached out to @benchutta for comment.
