Dananeer Mobeen has been a target for individuals on the internet who are outraged and perplexed by SZABIST in Karachi’s decision to invite her to appear on a panel.

The ZAB Media Festival, conducted as part of the annual media festival hosted by the Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology (SZABIST) in Karachi, was a three-day event that invited several luminaries to come and talk to students about the revival of media.

The event concluded last Saturday, with Zahid Ahmed as the main speaker and several big personalities in attendance, including Sanam Saeed, Farhan Saeed, Ali Rehman Khan, Nabeel Qureshi, Fifi Haroon, and many more.

One panel that seemed to irritate many people was the one centred on internet personas, with the point of contention being that Dananeer Mobeen was invited.

There are several points that must be made here. First and foremost, we must realise that Dananeer Mobeen did not become a phenomenon overnight. We watched that little footage that went viral — we shared it, rewatched it, made memes out of it, and shared Yashraj Mukhate’s version of it.

If we have a problem with virality, let us start pointing fingers at Dananeer and do some much-needed self-reflection.

The video that went viral was not offensive. It’s a video that any of us could have created and would have gone viral if we hadn’t. Accusing Dananeer of being unlucky, based on stuff that was never disagreeable or vexing to begin with? Come on, people.

The transformation of that footage into a meme was a lovely moment in the internet environment, with Lollywood and Bollywood celebs joining in on the fun. It was a rare moment of solidarity amid difficult circumstances, and it should not be overlooked.

If the subjects at hand were media revival and digital representation, how could Dananeer Mobeen not be invited? Can we dispute that she became viral in an instant? Is her contribution to Pakistan’s digital world any less valuable because of the immediate nature of her virality?

Furthermore, why take the spotlight away from individuals who were also on the panel, all of whom have contributed to the digital scene in various ways? Why was this picture not placed into context and entirely distorted, just to denigrate a young lady because she is a sensitive and easy target due to the nature of her existence and positionality in society? Selective critique is both lazy and simple.

Sure, one may make the privilege case. Dananeer is conventionally gorgeous, well-spoken, and checks off a lot of social status boxes. However, this subtlety appears to be missed on people attacking her, who will equally criticise less privileged content creators while gatekeeping and dismissing their work as “cringe.”