First published in the Daily Maverick 168 weekly newspaper.

Research suggests that what we see on the news has a significant impact on our mental health, even causing depression, by influencing our world view and informing our cognitive biases.

In maintaining the focus on the negativity, we are, in effect, blinded to the good that there is in life.

Through short documentary-style videos on topics such as activism, crafts, creativity, food, nature and music, the optimistic stories broadcast by content platform Beautiful News reflect the best in humanity.

Its beautifully crafted stories, shared by contributors around the world, have reached billions of people and garnered numerous accolades.

This reach is set to skyrocket following a partnership struck this year with the artificial intelligence (AI) tech company 8POD, which is described as shifting the paradigm in editorial content distribution.

8POD uses “intelligent push” technology to target audiences through AI-driven behaviour, promising to serve audiences the stories that they actually want.

Engagement with editorial content in the advertising display space deploys a dynamic content microsite tailored to the viewer’s online interests and behaviours. And because the initial content served is relevant to the person, one in five click in – compared with the one in 300 of those who click on traditional digital adverts.

“We gather our stories by keeping a pulse on individuals and organisations that are making a positive impact through their ideas, actions, initiatives and contributions,” says 8POD cofounder, celebrated photojournalist Adrian Steirn, who has received numerous accolades for his work, including a Commonwealth Points of Light award from Queen Elizabeth II in 2019. He is also the founder of Beautiful News.

Established in 2016, Beautiful News has grown a following of more than two million on Facebook and is one of the social network’s fastest-growing pages in South Africa – evidence that shining some sunshine on the world’s most pressing concerns generates hope for a better day.

The good-news platform recently announced that it had cemented a partnership with the WaterBear Network to encourage people around the world to do more to fight climate change.

Amsterdam-based WaterBear Network provides a showcase for nature documentaries, offering subscribers free entertainment on demand while encouraging viewers to engage with environmental causes through advocacy, volunteering or benefaction.

With gloomy reports of rain falling atop the Greenland ice peak for the first time, record temperatures and fire clouds – besides a global pandemic ravaging the planet, SA achieving the ignominy of having the worst unemployment rates out of 82 countries monitored by Bloomberg, and the alarming sixth report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warning it’s “code red” for humanity – most of us would be hard-pressed to find a silver lining.

Beautiful News seeks out those blue skies, reminding its audience that there’s always hope. And that it’s not too late.

Its popular stories at the moment are not about corruption, the climate, tanking economies or the pandemic, but “wish you were here-type” doccies about Rome, the Eternal City, overflowing with history, religion and art; about the “TikTok farmer” who feeds the nation; how the Blyde River’s green canyon was formed; protecting the last wild camels of the Gobi Desert; and saving Australia’s Easter bunnies from becoming a myth.

Each day, a new story is uploaded at 4.14pm, the time Nelson Mandela stepped out of prison a free man on 11 February 1990, to honour his legacy.

Through the collaboration with the WaterBear Network, described as a “Netflix for nature conservation” by Steirn, Beautiful News provides two-minute films covering topics ranging from the hazards of “ghost” nets in the oceans and critically endangered red pandas to flamingos and mangrove forests, to teach audiences about the natural world and their role in conserving it.

Beautiful News has already released more than 80 “shorts” for WaterBear since 2020.

A previous World Wildlife Fund South Africa photographer-in-residence, Steirn believes that constructive storytelling – not fearmongering – is what is missing in the fight for sustainability and to save the planet.

Steirn’s other lauded works include taking the final official portraits of Mandela, creating the 21 Icons project celebrating remarkable individuals, documentaries about rhino poachers and the internationally renowned The Pangolin Men series, about a group of Zimbabweans who protect the world’s most-trafficked animals.

In revealing the work of ordinary people, conservationists and organisations, Beautiful News and WaterBear are not only reframing the approach to environmentalism but are also calling on audiences to stop being passive about their viewing and to become activists by donating to the cause.

Steirn says the growth of Beautiful News, which is created by Ginkgo, a Cape Town digital content agency predicated on the power of positive stories, has been an “extraordinary thing”.

Stories are the bridge to sustainability, he believes. Through revealing the incredible work of others, Beautiful News and WaterBear will be spreading hope for a better tomorrow. DM168

This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper which is available for R25 at Pick n Pay, Exclusive Books and airport bookstores. For your nearest stockist, please click here.