Philly teens want to save lives through viral anti-violence videos

Philadelphia youth are taking lessons from social media influencers to help reduce gun violence and save peers' lives.

Why it matters: The number of teens killed from gun violence rose 50% during the pandemic, the Pew Research Center found.

• The rate of teens killed in 2021 was the highest it has been in two decades.

Driving the news: Five youth teams from across Philadelphia are presenting social media videos with anti-gun violence messages Monday at REC Philly .

• It's part of a pitch contest put on by Project Unloaded and YEAH Philly , and judged by a panel of local leaders. The winning team will receive $2,500 and have its content integrated into the group's "Guns Change the Story" campaign which has reached more than 3 million teens.

Zoom in: Chicago-based Project Unloaded shares studies and statistics online to show that "guns make us less safe."

• But the group says that message is more compelling coming from young people, some of whom are directly impacted by gun violence.

What they're saying: "Our approach is to make young people messengers and influencers for their peers," Nina Vinik, the group's founder, tells Axios.

• "You have to meet them where they're at, and where are they? They're online."

How it works: Over the summer, Project Unloaded educated competitors about the perils of gun violence and connected them with social media influencers with huge followings, who shared how to create attention-grabbing content.

• The teams then put what they learned into action. They're being judged on criteria ranging from creativity to presentation.
• How memorable was their idea? Does it spark a conversation, and how is it different from anti-gun violence campaigns?

Like many of her teammates, Presley Barner, an 18-year-old from Team YEAH Philly, was touched by gun violence three years ago, when her cousin, an aspiring rapper, was shot to death at a 7-Eleven.

• She cried for three days straight, unable to shake the idea that she'd never see him again.
• Those painful memories inspired one of her team's videos — a fever dream of a teenager tossing and turning at night, bombarded by news clips of people lost to gun violence.

"I want people to understand where we're coming from. This is how some of us live," Barner tells Axios.

The bottom line: Vinik says they'll share the winner's social media campaign in the coming weeks.

• YEAH Philly co-founder Kendra Van de Water says her group will share their video online regardless of whether they win the competition, knowing it could save lives here.

What we're watching: Project Unloaded is looking to expand programming in Philadelphia.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to clarify that YEAH Philly is co-hosting the pitch contest.