Instagram influencer hits back at criticism over 'bad taste' Chernobyl selfies

One of the Instagram “influencers” attacked online for taking photos at the Chernobyl disaster site has hit back at accusations she was exploiting the tragedy which is experiencing a fame renaissance because of a new TV series.

Austrian Instagram model and law student Julia Baessler was among those to have her photo featured in a now-viral tweet by Twitter user Bruno Zupan, accusing her and others of “flocking to the site of disaster”.

While Ms Baessler’s photograph of herself from the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant showed her fully clothed in the standard protective clothing visitors are required to wear, she was heavily criticised.

Other photos shared by the Twitter user showed people taking mocking or highly sexualised shots of themselves where thousands of people died and 100,000 residents lost their homes.

Ms Baessler told Business Insider she had visited Chernobyl several times prior to the airing of the TV series which, since it hit Netflix, has been responsible for a sudden spike in tourism to the site.

She also added that she had visited the site because both her engineer boyfriend and herself —who she visited the site with — are interested in nuclear physics and history, not because visiting Chernobyl was “trendy”.

"I didn't come to visit Chernobyl as a tourist attraction or shooting spot because of the HBO series and I'm sick of reading this,” Ms Baessler said.

“I have been visiting Chernobyl for the first time long before the series came out because I'm really interested in history and nuclear physics itself.

"Because of the engineering work of my boyfriend we were able to get a special admission to go inside control room 4 which is actually not accessible for visitors.

“I left those [Instagram] stories online because they are full of informations [sic] and I really want to spread them but I don't want to be seen as an influencer going to Chernobyl because it's trendy now. That's not true."

Since the backlash, the 22-year-old has deleted the photograph which was shared on Twitter, but the posts and stories of her multiple trips to Chernobyl remain on her Instagram account.

The Instagram stories feature Ms Baessler filming her tour through the site with meticulous detail about the history of the plant and the town.

Meanwhile, fellow Instagram “influencer” Nz.Nik who has received the fiercest criticism because of the topless photos she posted from Chernobyl appears to have doubled-down since the backlash.

Since the eruption of criticism she has posted two more topless photos of herself from the disaster site, this time wearing a gas mask.

The author of the tweet which was largely responsible for drawing attention to the photos has since admitted that the backlash against the influencers had “got out of control” and urged for some restraint, telling people to stop acting “like a mob”.

“Some people provide useful info on IG (instagram); but whatever they post anyway, you have no right to abuse them. hello?!” Bruno Zupan posted.

The city of Chernobyl was home to a catastrophic nuclear event while under Soviet Union rule in 1986 which led to its evacuation.

The number of deaths the radiation caused is still debated, with estimates ranging from 4,000 to 93,000.

Chernobyl is currently uninhabitable, but can still be visited.

HBO recently aired a series about the disaster, which has seen a jump in tourism by 30-40 per cent since May, The Guardian reported.

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