An Australian social media star has expressed his horror after a completely unrelated, weeks-old post of him at Bondi Beach was pushed back into users' feeds by Instagram's algorithm in the immediate aftermath of Sunday's devastating terror attack in Sydney.
Algorithmic Insensitivity After Tragedy
Kurt Coleman, a 28-year-old influencer, took to his Instagram story on Thursday to address the bizarre and distressing situation. He revealed that a shirtless photo of him posing on the iconic Sydney beach, originally posted nearly two weeks prior, had inexplicably gone viral again following the horrific events of Sunday.
Fifteen innocent people lost their lives and 40 more were injured during the attack at a Jewish Hanukkah celebration, marking it as Australia's second-worst mass shooting. The alleged gunmen were identified as father and son Sajid Akram, 50, and Naveed Akram, 24. Sajid was shot dead by police, while Naveed, recovering in hospital, faces 59 criminal charges.
Backlash Over an Old Photo
Coleman's original post, part of a series showing him on the sand in blue boardshorts, was captioned with a light-hearted declaration of love for the suburb: 'I love Bondi Beach and I’m a Bondi babe.' However, in the wake of the tragedy, followers began contacting him, accusing him of insensitivity for posting a cheerful beach photo.
He shared one direct message where a fan admitted, 'For a moment I was like, very strange to post this right now and insensitive, but then I saw the date posted.' The follower blamed the platform's 'messed up' algorithm for resurfacing the old content.
Coleman responded by stating he had received 'multiple messages' about the errant image. 'It's from 2 weeks ago if you actually read the date,' he wrote, expressing frustration at being lectured for something beyond his control. 'I don't know why the algorithm has sent that post to everyone – literally started going everywhere by itself the day the tragedies happened,' he explained.
A Life Transformed
The incident comes after Coleman recently opened up about renouncing his former 'party boy' lifestyle. In a candid July post featuring a throwback photo from 2017, he described that period as his 'lowest point,' taken after a night of excessive alcohol and hard drug use.
He confessed to being 'addicted to partying' for the numb feeling it provided but stated that night was a turning point. 'I've never taken any hard drugs since that night,' he affirmed, showcasing a significant personal transformation since first rising to fame in 2016.
The recent algorithmic mishap highlights the unpredictable and often jarring nature of social media feeds, where old, benign content can be juxtaposed uncomfortably against breaking news of real-world tragedy, causing unintended distress for both creators and their audiences.
