Hey guys, so I came across this story about a social media account that was posting some aggressive drone videos of people experiencing homelessness. Apparently this account called BumsNDrones was posting videos on TikTok and YouTube that showed homeless folks in kind of an mocking way, with music playing like they were making fun of the situation. Well, those platforms ended up banning the account after someone from Forbes brought it to their attention.
The account is still active on Facebook and Instagram though, where it has over a million followers. A spokesperson from Meta, which owns those platforms, said they’re looking into the content now and will remove anything that breaks their rules.
The guy running these accounts is named Hank Borunda, and he’s from Colorado. He was getting hundreds of thousands of views on TikTok with his videos of homeless people on the streets. One video even got up to almost 10 million views!
There was one video posted on Instagram recently that showed a homeless dude on a park bench trying to get this drone to stop bothering him. It was set to creepy music too. When Forbes tried contacting Hank about it, he didn’t say much and just posted their message online instead of answering. Then some of his followers started sending mean comments and texts to Forbes.
Earlier this year Hank said he was just trying to “shine a light” on homelessness and “inspire change.” But homeless advocates don’t see it that way at all. One spokesperson said the videos are clearly just trying to embarrass and shame homeless people during their worst moments. And it’s not like the homeless people can do much to stop the drones without help.
On top of that, drone pilots actually have regulations they need to follow. And it sounds like Hank might be breaking some rules about flying over people. Now the FAA is even investigating him for unauthorized drone use. They can fine him over $30k or take away his pilot license if he’s not being safe.
