A Jamaican content creator is sounding the alarm over what he says is the glorification of skin bleaching, scamming and other degenerate practices in the local social media space, warning that the trends are “watering down” the country’s image globally.

“I feel the culture in Jamaica has been hijacked and I don’t recognise these people that call themselves Jamaicans these days,” bemoaned Chazz Francis, who is also a marketer and photographer, in a recent post to social media.

He went on to lament the normalisation of scamming and skin bleaching in society, which he suggested was being fueled by so-called social media “influencers”.

“We just need to go back to our roots and push some positive things to the forefront of Jamaica, and stop make the empty barrels get the spotlight,” he added in the heartfelt post, which was endorsed by hundreds of other social media users.
Francis doubled down on his stance in an interview with Observer Online.

“I am a man who loves my country, and I realised that a lot of the quote-unquote influencers who are getting a lot of attention are either gimmicks or they’re tearing down the country,” he said. “It may not necessarily be directly, but in how they carry themselves on the Internet, it is not a good reflection of the country.”

Francis said Jamaicans are known to be hardworking people; however, he said there has been a sudden cultural shift in which scammers are being idolised.

“I’m just so frustrated with how we idolise these scammers and the people who are going down the wrong path,” he said.

“Scamming is not normal. It should not be a career path you have in your mind. I just wanted to highlight that and I realise that a lot of Jamaicans agree with me, but we’re not saying anything.

Dr Sonjah Stanley Niaah

“The more the good people stay quiet, the more it seems like all of Jamaica is for scamming,” he said.

Against that background, Francis said he believes the government must take a more active role in curbing what he describes as the promotion of criminal behaviour through music.

“I think the government needs to step in. I don’t think scamming songs should be allowed to play. Not just on the radio, in your private car. I would make it known if you record a scamming song or songs glorifying criminal activity, it’s going to be a $1 million fine,” Francis said.

He also called for the authorities to become stricter against the practice of skin bleaching, including applying “hefty fines” against vendors profiting off the practice.

“I think that if you are bleaching your skin, you shouldn’t get any form of government assistance. The reason for that is if you have additional money to destroy yourself, you don’t need the government. You have so much money that instead of buying food or getting education, you’re destroying yourself,” Francis said, emphasising that skin bleaching can have adverse effects on the body.

However, cultural activist and writer Sonjah Stanley Niaah suggested that scamming and skin bleaching are linked to Jamaica’s education system, governance, and social structures which she noted remains largely colonial and fails to equip citizens with a sense of purpose or a clear vision for the future.

“The root problem is that we are sitting in a system that was never created for us. The system is colonial. Our education system represents that colonial system. Our system of incarceration represents that system. Our system of government represents that system,” Niaah told Observer Online. “It is the same Westminster system of government that we have. It’s mirroring the colonial state. There’s superficial transformation from that colonial state to what we have now. So it means that we are not in control of who that Jamaican citizen is becoming.”

She emphasised that solutions should focus on training, socialising, and educating citizens to aspire toward nation-building, rather than banning music that glorifies scamming or imposing fines on skin bleaching products.

“We can’t get upset about scamming. We must get upset about the system that no longer serves our people and doesn’t validate them and the education system that nobody’s interested in,” she added.

Dr Stanley Niaah further warned that the problem goes beyond individual choices, pointing to a global trend of anti-intellectualism.

“The anti-intellectualism right now, not just in Jamaica, but the whole world, is telling people that they don’t need to go to college, they don’t need to go to school, and they don’t have to work. They can go and scam. That’s a larger problem,” she added.

In the meantime, Francis is calling on influencers to use social media to uplift rather than degrade, noting that the former also has earning potential.

“You can come on the internet and you don’t have to degrade yourself or embarrass yourself and your country to gain traction. I use my platform to motivate and spread positivity, teaching financial literacy, male development, and other skills,” Francis said.