Helping someone in need is a wonderful thing to do.

However, the moment a camera comes out, people start questioning the motive behind the gesture.

This bystander found himself in that situation while waiting for a friend near a market and watching a couple approach a homeless man with food and supplies.

At first, everything seemed harmless enough.

But then, he noticed the man turning away from the camera and doing everything he could to avoid being filmed. That’s when he could no longer sit back and just watch.

Read on to see exactly what he did.

AITA for stopping video when homeless man clearly didn’t want to be on camera?

Yesterday, I was waiting for a friend near the market after work. There was a homeless man sitting against a wall nearby. He looked tired, but not aggressive, just a person who was clearly going through a tough time.

A couple of minutes later, a guy and a girl pulled up.

They had a phone and a grocery bag with some supplies in it. They started filming as they approached him. At first, I thought it was awkward, but none of my business.

The man didn’t look like he wanted to be part of it.

Then the man turned away from the phone, covered his face with his hand, and tried to move closer to the wall. The girl kept saying something to the camera like, “Today we found someone who really needs help.”

The guy held out the bag to him and said, “Just take it, we’re helping you.”

The man didn’t take the bag right away. He was looking at the ground and clearly wanted the camera taken away. The girl said that he was just shy and kept filming.

When they wouldn’t stop, he walked over.

That’s when I walked over and said that he clearly didn’t want to be filmed. She replied that they blur faces when needed.

I said they could give him food without a camera if he didn’t want to be filmed.

The guy turned off the camera and became angry. He said I’d just cost them usable footage for their social page.

Now, he’s wondering if he should’ve stayed out of it.

I replied that if footage is more important than actually helping the person standing right in front of them, it’s no longer charity and just ********.

In the end, they left the supplies and went away. The man, who was sitting there quietly the whole time, said thanks, took the packages, and walked around the corner.

Now I think that maybe I shouldn’t have gotten involved. But it really bothered me to see someone who clearly didn’t want to be filmed while others kept doing it because they needed a thumbnail.

AITA?

Eek! That was probably not the way the couple should’ve gone about it.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about someone who asked their neighbor to move their fence off their property, then learned the neighbor was trying to claim their land as theirs instead.

Let’s check out how the readers over at Reddit feel about this situation.

This person thinks he did the right thing.

Harsh words, but good point.

This reader doesn’t like when people do that to others.

For this reader, it’s just about being over influencers.

We need more people like him in the world who aren’t afraid to stand up for what’s right.

The homeless man made it pretty clear that he didn’t want to be filmed, yet the couple kept recording because the footage seemed more important than his comfort.

They should feel ashamed of themselves for putting their own views and engagement ahead of someone else’s dignity.

Let’s hope they learn to respect boundaries more than this in the future.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a tenant who decided to stop returning his neighbor’s misplaced laundry after two years.