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Oblivious 'influencers' work on 3.6-roentgen tans in Chernobyl after realising TV show based on real nuclear TITSUP

Not great, not terrible

The absolute state of 2019 is that millions of vapid young people, followed by millions more vapid young people, make serious bank just by virtue of being really, really, really ridiculously good looking and posting about it online.

But for your Instagram "influencer" game to be truly lit, you need that exclusive, glamorous backdrop for your thigh gap. The infinity pool, beach, boutique coffee shop, the rails leading into Auschwitz... you know the deal.

Ever bang on trend, now the tastemakers have discovered HBO's miniseries Chernobyl is actually based on a "terrifying real disaster", as The Sun helpfully reported, they're crawling over each other to snap the perfect arse shot in the Ukrainian nuclear wasteland.

As music 'n' movies mag Consequence of Sound eloquently pointed out, it's an "unfathomable horror of a manmade disaster that cost the lives and damaged the health of untold thousands..." No, they didn't mean Instagram. It also held that the individuals were "not immune" to its charms. No, they didn't mean the radiation.

Tourism in "The Zone" isn't new. Much of the area opened up from 2011 – 25 years after a power surge during a safety test at the infamous plant caused an explosion and subsequent meltdown in 1986 – though some locations are strictly off-limits unless you want to die horribly near the Elephant's Foot.

It's just that, since the show was streamed last month, the nearby town of Pripyat and surrounds have "seen a 35 per cent rise in bookings", tour guide Victor Korol told CNN.

All of which spurred Chernobyl writer and producer Craig Mazin to ask rad-seekers to show a little respect. Upper estimates peg the death toll at almost 100,000 as an indirect result of the disaster.

It's not even the only "influencer" faux pas of the week. Perma-pouter Kylie Jenner – "the world's youngest self-made billionaire" though we're not sure what it is she does – was slammed for throwing a Handmaid's Tale-themed birthday party for a friend and posting about it on Instagram.

For those unaware, Margaret Atwood's dystopian novel is set in a United States run by Christian fundamentalists who enslave the few remaining fertile women and turn them into baby factories for the regime's inner circle. It's horrible.

So, natch, when the vocal fry-tastic younger sister of Kim Kardashian was looking for a party theme, she stopped at the telly series based on the tome.

"Praise be, ladies. Welcome, welcome," the personality void burbled. "You know The Handmaid's Tale is my favourite show ever... welcome to Gilead."

The reaction was along the lines of:

Oh boy. The only thing these people are influencing is humanity's ever-deepening stupidity. Here's hoping the next place they rock up to do a hot squat is a totally "nukular" place like Pyongyang. ®

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