Sarah Laurel, a harm-reduction professional, sat behind her desk and asked the man who walked into her store how much he’d been paid to be in a viral video she’d recently watched.
The man was an active substance user, struggling with addiction, who had probably taken drugs on the streets of Kensington, Philadelphia, earlier that morning. His answer was $50.
Sarah laughed and said that was more than usual.
Since 2021, Kensington, a low-income neighborhood in North Philadelphia, has been ground zero for a new and dangerous sedative called “tranq”. Also known as “xylazine”, a side-effect of this drug can be struggling to stand upright, which is why users are commonly described in the media as “zombies”. People taking it can also develop severe flesh-eating wounds.
Xylazine has only been approved for veterinary use, and because it’s not an opioid, its effects cannot be reversed by emergency medication like Narcan, resulting in more fatalities. The percentage of deadly opioid overdoses in which it was detected rose by 276% between January 2019 and June 2022, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently reported.
Rapidly, the use of the sedative has spread across the US, spiking in areas such as Philadelphia, where it is cut with other potent drugs like fentanyl.
Now, though, a new and unique problem seems to be affecting areas where the drug is showing up: a dark and voyeuristic type of content creation referred to as “tranq tourism”. This adjacent social media industry is becoming so prevalent it has even been the subject of a News Movement documentary.
In viral videos uploaded to social channels such as TikTok, tranq users are filmed when they are in a physical state in which they are unlikely to be able to consent. In some, they are asked questions about their private life or situations in a probing way that plays on their vulnerability. The videos are filmed by content creators, some of whom just visit the area for a short while and then monetize the views.
“There are over 150 channels dedicated to Kensington and all the things that take place here,” said Sarah Laurel, founder of Savage Sisters, a non-profit in Kensington supporting those affected by substance disorders.
The group offers resources like wound care, showers and daily supplies from their storefront on Kensington Avenue.
“People need to stop coming into our community and exploiting us and profiting off what we are going through. Interviewing individuals one-on-one and asking them such traumatizing questions at a street-level basis with no follow-up care will never be OK,” Laurel adds.
“If you’re not here to help, just get out.”
In 2022, the typical compensation for YouTube content creators in the United States was roughly $4,600 monthly, according to Influencer Market Hub research. Profit depends on the reach of a video, so in some cases, it can be far higher, but the platform pays approximately $20 for every 1,000 views.
TikTok is similar, and to begin earning money through the app, a user must have at least 10,000 followers. In one video posted by “Addiction After Dark” that reached 1.3m views, a woman, who is probably high, is filmed in an unspecified location in the US. After the interviewer asks how old she is, she responds: “I’m sorry, please give me a moment.” Then, later, holding her hand up in front of her face, she asks the person behind the camera to show her some respect.
Underneath the video, someone commented: “This is absolutely disgusting of the person posting this; quit exploiting these poor people. Shame on you!”
Other viral videos that document tranq in Kensington specifically show people lying on the floor or zoom in on users who have taken the drug, labeling them “zombies”, “junkies” or “fiends”. The faces of individuals in these videos are rarely blurred out, and #Kenzingtonzombies now has millions of views.
“These videos don’t pull at the heartstrings; they make these people look like animals in a zoo instead of individuals that need help,” said Dr Geri-Lynn Utter, a clinical psychologist specializing in addiction.
Utter grew up in Kensington, above a bar, with parents who struggled with addiction throughout her childhood. Every month or so, she returns to the area, volunteering on the streets and encouraging people to consider treatment.
“It’s become very exploitative there; people from all over Europe and the US are coming into the area and putting their phones or cameras in people’s faces,” Utter said.
“It’s detrimental because it isn’t helping. It’s continuing to dehumanize. These people are not in the right frame of mind to consent or participate in a social media clip.”
Indeed, “help” or “raise awareness” are keywords often thrown around by creators to justify why they are making this content in the first place. Some believe their videos are the only way to support or are an effective mode of shining light on the reality of what’s happening in Kensington.
Others interviewed in the News Movement documentary, like Mr Work, who runs a YouTube channel called Kensington Daily, admit it’s mostly just for the money.
There is hardly any way for viewers to donate funds or assist those they’re watching.
Laurel said the subjects of these videos, many of whom she knows or are her “friends”, will not get paid more than $5 for a single clip.
“Don’t just show up and record, bring resources, clean up,” Laurel said.
“Ask the community what they need.”
Jeff, a content creator in Kensington who runs a channel called Jeff’s High on Life, believes there is an ethical way to do this sort of filming if you pour the resources back into the community.
He makes about $1,000 a month, which he spends on wound care and supplies like clothes, but says he’s heard of cases in which content creators set up GoFundMe pages for the addicts who never see that money.
• In the US, call or text SAMHSA’s National Helpline iat 988. In the UK, Action on Addiction is available on 0300 330 0659. In Australia, the National Alcohol and Other Drug Hotline is at 1800 250 015; families and friends can seek help at Family Drug Support Australia at 1300 368 186
