He is 4 years old, he is Afro-Colombian and has become the star of social networks. Yanfry is already a renowned “influencer” in Colombia.
From our correspondent,
Yanfry is a child from the department of Choco, one of the poorest in the country and home to the largest community of Afro-Colombians. Yanfry Díaz Quiñones lives with his mother in the city of Istmina. He became known with a video published by his uncle Bernardo Diaz through his TikTok account (@venao2323). In this video, we see him walking down the street and answering his uncle’s questions, including: ” Yanfry, how do you walk there? I walk like a man, look like a man “.
A TikTok account and an unknown disease
Over 30,000 shares and thousands of views have been recorded. Now, the TikTok profile counts nearly 4 million followers and its popularity doesn’t stop at TikTok. Yanfry has already done several national TV shows. He also shot a Christmas commercial for the Netflix video platform. Toys in his likeness were created such as the “Yanfry doll”. The family of the small influencer also receives regular donations. Because if his size and his voice amuse and made him famous, you should know that they are due to an illness. He suffers from hyperthyroidism and hyperglycemia. This gives him the appearance of a one and a half year old child when he is 4. He is 77 centimeters tall. Today, the influencer is being treated thanks in particular to the support of his followers on social networks. His family, his mother and his uncle, are now dedicated to managing the little one’s social networks.
An exploitation of the image of the boy who worries
Yanfry is becoming a sort of commercial brand and that is why analysts are warning about the exploitation of the small. ” Exposing children and adolescents on the internet violates their rights to privacy and integrity. When a photo or video is uploaded to social networks, this content can be used in a malicious way, exposing them to cyberbullying, hate speech, humiliation, violence and sexual exploitation “Warns the director general of the Colombian Institute for the Protection of the Family (ICBF). It refers to studies such as the one entitled Child Online Safety Index carried out in particular by the World Economic Forum (2020). This study establishes that 60% of girls and boys experience digital risks.
The family of the “influencer” defends itself and assures that Yanfry does nothing that does not make him happy.
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