Lifestyle

Pandemic opens new doors for model Jeimmy Garzon

Published

3 years ago

August 30, 2022

Colombian model Jeimmy Garzon has been building a modeling career that has taken her around the world.

Jeimmy has immersed herself in a world of fashion, travel and beauty since she was 14 years old. But she found herself at a big of a crossroads when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020.

“In March 2020, a few days before officials really started to announce the enormity of the pandemic, I arrived in London for a photo shoot,” she said. “Upon finishing the work, I was told that they were going to close the borders.”

In a fortunate stroke of luck, Jeimmy said she was able to secure a flight on the last plane back to Colombia from London. But it was on the flight that she started to realize the extent of the global situation.

“During the flight, I developed symptoms,” she said. “I reported it when we landed, and they took me directly to a clinic.”

The results of the COVID-19 test was not what Jeimmy was hoping for. She was positive for the virus and deemed contagious.

“I was out of action for a month,” she noted. “And then I spent several months in isolation.”

Being locked up in quarantine meant that Jeimmy’s modeling career would be put on hold for a while. It was the life she knew, but she knew there were so many more talents she could unleash in the meantime.

“I made use of this time to work on my social media channels,” she said.

While Jeimmy was confined to isolation like much of the world at the time, she took to Instagram, Facebook and TikTok where she grew a following creating fashion, beauty and food content.

She said while the pandemic created an immense amount of uncertainty for everyone across the globe, she found it was a time, personally, that would afford her the opportunity to take a deeper look at her future and focus on additional interests she had been thinking about.

“To be honest, this was a very positive and productive period,” she said. “It really didn’t set me back at all.”

Today, Jeimmy lives in Spain and her hard work during the COVID-19 lockdowns has paid off as her social media channels are thriving. And as her modeling career resumed in full force in February 2021, she now operates multiple avenues of business all based around the industry that she has always loved.

Now, as she looks to her future, she sees a world of exciting possibilities that are just waiting to be unleashed with her determination and talents.

“My goals from here include being involved in projects with different national brands, both on the catwalk and in the photography studio. I would also like to venture into television as well as music videos,” she said. “And ultimately, I would love to work internationally with world-renowned labels.”

To learn more about Jeimmy and follow her social media journey, visit her on Instagram, Facebook and @jeimmygarzon on TikTok.

Lifestyle

Confronting Propaganda: Street Smart Documents Honest Reactions to Gaza Indoctrination Footage

Published

5 hours ago

November 6, 2025

Michelle Langton

Photo Courtesy of: Street Smart

Byline: Michelle Langton

In a recent project, the Street Smart team gathered 20 strangers and presented them with propaganda footage from Gaza that has circulated widely online but remains largely unfamiliar to many audiences. The aim wasn’t to provoke outrage or test media literacy in a classroom setting. It was to capture raw, unfiltered emotional reactions to material that reveals how narratives are formed at the source. The resulting video offers a candid look at how people process shocking content and how their perceptions shift when they see what is rarely shown on mainstream platforms.

The Structure of the Experiment

The format was simple. Participants were seated and shown a series of clips from Gaza, including children’s programming and broadcasts containing intense ideological messaging. No background information was provided, and viewers were not instructed on how to interpret what they were seeing. After watching, they were asked for immediate reactions.

The footage elicited a wide range of emotions. Some viewers were stunned by the content, admitting they had never seen anything like it before. Others expressed disbelief, questioning why this kind of material isn’t more widely discussed. A few were visibly shaken, saying the experience fundamentally altered their understanding of the situation.

By presenting the footage without narration or added commentary, Street Smart allowed participants’ genuine responses to emerge. The experiment revealed how propaganda can affect an entire generation. It can shock, unsettle, and force people to reconsider their assumptions.

Why This Project Matters

Sage Fox and Dorani aligned the purpose of this experiment with Street Smart’s broader mission of challenging prevailing narratives and encouraging critical thought among younger audiences. In an environment where footage spreads rapidly across digital platforms, propaganda can shape public opinion long before context catches up.

By showing the Gaza Indoctrination footage in a controlled setting and recording uncoached responses, the team aimed to expose the emotional and cognitive impact of this type of content.

“The first reaction is often the most revealing, because it shows how powerful images can be without context.”

The Range of Reactions

While each participant brought their own perspective, several themes emerged. Some expressed sympathy with the imagery itself, saying it was emotionally powerful.

One participant said, “It makes me question what I see online every day. How much of it is shaped this way?”

Their comments highlight how propaganda resonates differently depending on prior knowledge and exposure. Many viewers have simply never encountered such footage directly.

Street Smart’s Approach

This project continues a pattern established by Sage Fox & Dorani’s earlier videos. Rather than relying on experts or lengthy analysis, Street Smart focuses on real people and their honest reactions. The approach is simple but effective. Present potent material, listen to what people say, and share those moments with a wider audience.

The Gaza Indoctrination footage experiment fits this model. It doesn’t attempt to draw final conclusions or offer political commentary. Instead, it documents how people respond when they’re exposed to narratives that are usually filtered through intermediaries.

Implications for Media Literacy

Beyond its viral potential, the video raises broader questions about how people interact with powerful imagery online. Propaganda operates on emotional reflexes. As this experiment shows, those reflexes are often unexamined until they’re brought to the surface.

Sage Fox & Dorani hope that projects like this push audiences to think more critically about what they see and share.

“The purpose is not to tell people what to believe. It is to remind them that every image comes from somewhere, and that source matters,” they said.

Next Steps for Street Smart

As Street Smart’s platform grows, Sage Fox & Dorani plan to conduct similar experiments in different contexts. They intend to use their direct, street-level approach to highlight how people react when presented with challenging material.

The Gaza footage project is one piece of a larger mission. The team uses simple methods to shed light on complex issues. By focusing on authentic reactions, they continue to build a unique space in online media that blends cultural investigation with raw human response.

A Window into Unfiltered Thought

“We showed 20 strangers real propaganda footage from Gaza — and filmed their unfiltered reactions” is not a dramatic exposé or academic study. It is a clear, unmediated record of how individuals respond when confronted with material designed to persuade. In that restraint lies its strength.

By documenting these moments, Street Smart shows how awareness can begin with a pause. A brief space between seeing and believing.