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Comment by sophist | Hacker News Reader

Wow, that picture is really manipulative.

The child we are being asked to help is on immuno-suppressants, and is, of course, required to be shielded from germs as much as possible. You're just not going to get a stock photo of baby hugging a goat.

So you're saying they didn't intentionally compose this picture in such a way as to increase the likelihood that people will donate?

This is not hacker news. There are lots of kids out there who are in just as much need of help. This one just happens to have a father who works on an open source product.

This is someone whose work most hackers have directly or indirectly benefited from.

This child is going to die if some people don't help - and you're worried the news item is polluting your sacrosanct daily news feed?

If you can't help, don't, atleast don't NOT help? Hope this gives you some perspective.

With these theory of yours, we might go around helping no one, because you can always find people more needy or helpless than the one we are helping. Nobody said this was the last time, they are doing charity. It is one step at a time. I am sure nobody is helping this child because, his father works on an open source product. If you replace the father with a fisherman or farmer, I am sure people would sympathize the same way and donate the same amount they might be doing now.

A Cynic is one who knows the price of everything and value of nothing. - Oscar Wilde

> So you're saying they didn't intentionally compose this picture in such a way as to increase the likelihood that people will donate?

If it was your kid, wouldn't you?

Of course. I was merely making the point that it's manipulative. Not that it shouldn't be.

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