Hard to believe but now there is a TV show for the best activist. The new five part series of The Activist will be brought to us by CBS, Global Citizen and Live Nation and will have co-hosts’ Usher, actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Kinrgy CEO Julianne Hough. Mark your calendars for the inaugural show with six activists starting to compete on October 22. Here is the press release.

The release says that “The activists will compete in missions, media stunts, digital campaigns and community events aimed at garnering the attention of the world’s most powerful decision-makers, demanding action, now.” The winners will get to go to the G20 summit in Rome to hob-nob with corporate and global leaders to garner support for their “meaningful change to one of three urgent universal causes: health, education and the environment.”

The activists will be judged on their ability to capture social media attention and the hosts’ positive opinions. Is this how activism is meant to be judged? By clicks and likes? What about the people, institutions or planet who are meant to benefit from this meaningful, impactful social activism. Twitter users have roasted the reality series asking Who asked for this? And why?

The big surprise is that someone thinks that activism is an entertainment format. I agree with the Washington Post who wrote: “A show that tries to exploit a wave of genuine social activism to create a culture of hazy (or lazy) online engagements is an unhelpful distraction from the real work going on and the real challenges we face.” The world is facing REAL issues that are nearly catastrophic and deserve REAL solutions – climate change, racial injustice, poverty, gun violence, COVID-19, economic inequality, January 6th -- to name a few. Activism as a reality show makes no sense and diminishes the personal sacrifices people make in the name of protest and commitment. What is happening to us?