The Real M.E. Campaign!

June 18, 2021


The Real M.E Campaign – Please send your photo and help the world to see that this ME/CFS can affect people of all ages and ethnicities!

Over two years ago, we launched The Real M.E. campaign as we were fed up with misrepresentations of ME/CFS in images used in the mainstream media.  

We want everyone to know that this devastating condition is indiscriminate and can affect men, women, and children of all ages and ethnicities and the least we can do as a national charity is to present Real images to the outside world. 

We want to continue using images of Real people with ME/CFS in everything that we produce – be it website blogs, magazine articles, or graphics promoting awareness.  

It is also important that we use Real images to demonstrate that while ME/CFS might be seen as an ‘invisible’ illness by many, it can and does dramatically affect an individual’s quality of life. 

With your continued support we can try to ensure that people come to realise this condition is very real and affects people from all walks of life. 

We have a library of over 400 images, but we want to have a lot more. We’re asking if you would send a current photo, or a before and after photo, or a selection of photos, together with a short narrative that provides some context to them. 

“We want to tell the world about the Real People that suffer because of this Real Disease – day after day, week after week, year after year, and in some of the cruellest cases, decade after painful decade…”

Neil Riley, Chairman, ME Association. 

Please send your photos – together with a short explanation of the context (up to 200 words) to: feedback@meassociation.org.uk and clearly write in the subject line of your email ‘Real M.E. Photo Campaign’. 

  • Please be aware that by taking part in this campaign you would be giving us permission to use your images in any of awareness efforts either online – the MEA website and social media – or in print within ME Essential magazine and even in some of the leaflets we provide. 
  • If we decide to use your photograph with or without quotes taken from your story, you will not be named – it will remain anonymous – but you should be aware that once a photo has been posted on the internet anyone else can copy and repost it.  
  • If we want to use your image and/or story in a pitch made to a newspaper or online media outlet, or if a media organisation approaches us, then we will seek your permission before any action is taken. 
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