I've put together a short investigation (see the secure link) while between projects and am undecided as the best way to proceed. I know the UK TV Current Affairs landscape pretty well and this won't work there for various reasons. Instead I plan to launch this on YouTube and TikTok but I'd welcome some advice for those who've been involved in digital campaigns. My primary aim here is impact, specifically policy change at YouTube. I've worked with SPACC, the relevant (and excellent) NGO campaigning on the issue, but I am still very interested in hearing other conservation perspectives. Many thanks to you talented people in advance.
LINK IS HERE: f.io/cr_x_43P
Obviously this video is a draft - we need a new VO recording, a musics and legals so please don't comment on it outside this forum, doing so would lessen our impact and could even expose us and the poster to legal action.
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Hi James, where can we find the link? Then I loop some people into this conversation who may be able to help. Thanks!
Apologies Thirza. Here it is : f.io/cr_x_43P
Thanks James! @Brooke Aldrich : this video may benefit from your expert view as well as that from your colleagues at AfA Macaque Coalition. Thanks in advance for your help!
Hi James, thanks for sharing this here! Have you considered contacting the AfA Social Media Animal Cruelty Coaltion (SMACC) to chat about this? SMACC is a coalition of animal advocacy organizations that focuses specifically on these issues. I don't think that SMACC's lead coordinator Nicola is a member of WildHug but I've asked her to have a look - I'm sure that they'd be interested in chatting.
Thanks Brooke but Nicola has already shared her time and insights with me.
Oh that's great to know! Glad you've already chatted. @Thirza Loffeld thanks for bringing this to my attention, while it's obviously macaque-related I always pass social media-related macaque things to my SMACC colleagues because social media animal cruelty is such a specific issue!
(now I am suspecting that SPACC might have been a typo for SMACC - as WildHug was a type for WildHub in my reply hahaha)
quite liked the term WildHug :D Thanks Brooke for your suggestions to James and great to hear James that you already connected with Nicole!
I also wondered if international wildlife trade experts @Arvind Kumar Chaurasia and @abbie parker would be able to give their thoughts on your video draft. Arvind shared a post on Youtube's underworld of wildlife crimes last year with our community.
Hi @James Boakes , and thanks Thirza for looping me in. I worked investigating the international trade in long-tailed macaques so am happy to offer any advice and connect you to colleagues who would be interested in the use of this content. Please reach out to me directly abbieparker@worldanimalprotection.org and let me know how I can best support. thanks, Abbie
It is also definitely worth reaching out to the working group of Asia Animals Coalition - the Macaque coalition: https://www.macaquecoalition.com/. I am happy to put you in touch with Sarah Kite from 'Action for Primates' who I worked with during my time at Cruelty Free International (BUAV) and who has long been an advocate for long-tailed macaques. Thank you for supporting the macaque and sharing their plight, I can speak to colleagues internally, as I have been pushing for us to put macaques on the agenda and the social media angle is something of interest. As @Brooke Aldrich mentioned, its a huge issue in its own right and another level of exploitation.
Hi Abbie. I certainly will do that. Thank you!
Thank you! Just to pick up the SM point, I've been motivated to make this film because the social media angle is under reported. Why is that? The reality is stories about poaching or animal torture are percived as more newsworthy.
The challenge for those of us horrified by what we are seeing re: macaques and social media is to frame the issue in an arresting way. With my film I've foregrounded the fact that this content is being watched by 10s of millions of chidlren, it's even on YouTubeKids, and the content is being driven by youtube's algorithm.
What i'd love to hear from the forum is how effective they think this frame is. And just to clarify I've already spoken at length with the leading conservation voices on the macaques / social media issue and they were as perplexed by aspects of the content as I was initially. Where I think the film adds to the collective understanding is in how it exposes the mechanics behind the astonishing growth of this content which currently has OVER 10 BILLION VIEWS.
That's the case I'm making and I'd be very keen to hear any opinions, affirming or dissenting, before I launch the film.
Many thanks for taking the time to read my post!
Hi James, I appreciate the work you're doing here. Ending wildlife exploitation is an issue that resonates with me and continues to do so in my work, and I did my master's dissertation on exactly this topic when the slow loris videos were exploding. If you would like some feedback on the video/the approach/etc feel free to DM here or on LinkedIn.
Cheers,
Rina
www.wildvox.earth