This story was originally published on Passionfruit.
Early in January 2023, German travel vlogger Christian Betzmann was embroiled in controversy as his latest trip to India garnered some serious criticism. Betzmann, who has over 448,000 followers on Instagram and TikTok, posted a now-disappeared video Instagram story of street hawkers, people who commonly sell goods and food on carts in the street in South Asia, outside his Airbnb, cursing at them for making noise. The video sparked debate around whether travel bloggers can create ethical content—and if so, how?
After his video was posted, Betzmann was met with social media users criticizing his approach to local culture and his insensitivity to those who came from far less privileged lives than he did.
