Recently, I saw an Instagram post from the @imagens.historia profile. It goes like this: “6 days ago, a boat with 750 refugees (100 were children) sank in Greece. The difference in the coverage of these accidents makes it clear how racist and elitist the media is. Five white billionaires who disappear during a joyride move more than the death of hundreds of poor and black immigrants.”

This is pure narrative. Refugee migrations have been moving the world for years and have always had extensive media coverage. The tragedy mentioned in the post also appeared in several relevant outlets.

The point is that we are in the era of decentralized information. For information to be distributed, it is not enough for it to just appear on major news portals.

The media is no longer composed only of a handful of large companies, but by millions of individuals exchanging information in real time. The topics that gain visibility are those that resonate with the majority of people.

Unusual and unpredictable stories, involving mystery and suspense, have a higher chance of grabbing people’s attention.

That’s why the missing OceanGate submersible is the most talked-about topic in the world right now. It’s not due to prejudice, but rather the eccentricity of the story.

Five people risked going four thousand meters deep to visit the remains of the Titanic and are now lost, hours away from running out of oxygen. It seems like a story out of a movie and generates expectation about the outcome.

It’s also important to point out that, contrary to what has been said, not all the passengers are white billionaires. Only one is a billionaire and two are Pakistanis.

Finally, I find it curious the hypocrisy of the profiles that are comparing these two incidents. Most of these profiles posted nothing about the refugee shipwreck when it occurred. Now, they use this tragedy to gain likes and reinforce their own narrative.