4 ms·

I Worked for MrBeast, He's a Fraud [video]

22 points by Timothee 2y ago

jeffwask 2y ago
I've always been sus of his content it seems to all be gambling, selling product, or sanitized hunger games style contests that pit struggling content creators against each other targeted at a young audience.
- talldayo 2y ago
  That, or the fact that he very clearly abuses charity as a public spectacle and shield against legitimate criticism. Truly, Mr. Beast's content is one step removed from the YouTubers that made homeless people dance for a $10 bill.
  - jeffwask 2y ago
    I was initially going to say it was sanitized "bum fights" from early YouTube but switched to hunger games
    - JohnFen 2y ago
      Oh, the "bum fights" comparison has some resonance with me. I find his videos to be very off-putting and sometimes offensive. I generally feel like I need a shower after watching them. But I'm obviously not his target demographic, so my opinion is meaningless. I'm just reassured to learn I'm not completely alone.
wand3r 2y ago
Can someone provide a tl;dw? I don't have time to watch a 53min video, and it's tough to skip around the way one might in a structured article. Curious what the main claims are?
- Peroni 2y ago
  There's an element of kayfabe to a lot of MrBeast's videos. Harmless kayfabe that most rational adults can see through and not care about (selective post editing to increase tension, etc). This somehow makes MrBeast a bad man. He also seems to think that MrBeast should be 100% altruistic and that using his videos to promote products to children is bad.
  - debacle 2y ago
    Children have died because they didn't know professional wrestling was fake. Something like half of young kids want to become streamers when they grow up. It's an important conversation to have.
    - Peroni 2y ago
      Children have died because they didn't know professional wrestling was fake. No-one is dying because MrBeast tells kids to subscribe and buy feastables. What conversation are we supposed to have?
      - jeffwask 2y ago
        Yet... I can see the next generation iterating on his contest style challenge videos in a more guerilla style with less resources and safety leading to a similar outcome.
      - piva00 2y ago
        The conversation about an adult YouTuber using psychological manipulation to milk children for money through gambling? No one is dying, just children being exploited. No biggie.
  - drcongo 2y ago
    That's very much not what the video says.
    - 2y ago
mikub 2y ago
What works for me most of the time on youtube is to just avoid clicking on videos where people put their faces on the video thumbnail, those things always make me angry when I see them. Fortunatly youtube stoped showing me suggestions on the frontpage because I disabled watch history, so I only see the thumbnails on the sidebar when watching a video.
- reportgunner 2y ago
  You can just block all images on youtube using ublock origin and then you won't see thumbnails at all.
debacle 2y ago
Many/most online personalities are frauds. Being genuine is exceptionally boring and unprofitable. Being hyped so often, always taking things to their extreme, being exceptionally provocative, etc is exhausting but the meat and potatoes of the digital world. I have seen good creators reach for money and completely invert their messaging, identity, etc. I have seen the money folks drop the facade and become completely normal people. Faking sincerity is big business, and if your core audience is mostly children it's also startlingly easy. The most popular "hot tub" streamer on Twitch, before she went down her current path, was a phenomenal cosplayer, but I assume she makes 100x or 1000x what she did then. On the flipside, there are a few retired pornstars on Twitch who stream themselves gaming to...practically no one. A popular and highly controversial political streamer saw that streamers on the other side of the political spectrum saw more financial success, and inverted his persona to match. And then of course you have the litany of streamers and youtubers (even one of the most popular female streamers) forced into "retirement" because their decade or more of awful behavior comes to light. Do not idolize streamers, and, by God, do not let your children idolize them.
- jeffwask 2y ago
  This is why I greatly appreciate the handful of content creators I follow who don't just chase the dollar and cultivate a fan based and stay true to their original intent.
- JohnFen 2y ago
  > Being genuine is exceptionally boring and unprofitable. Well, "boring" is subjective. I personally find hype boring and actual authenticity (or at least an accurate enough simulation of it that I can't tell) to be very interesting. Perhaps because it's so rare. > Do not idolize streamers Do not idolize anybody, actually. Every human is too imperfect to be idolized.
  - threatofrain 2y ago
    > Well, "boring" is subjective. And when you aggregate enough individuals you have something approaching objectivity. In other words, statistically speaking, what is the best poise and posture to have as a public figure? Saying that something is subjective and using an anecdote of yourself is as lazy as a cook saying they can't cook good food since everyone is different... so of course this dish should be spicy because they personally prefer it. Or you measure your audience. We can trust people like MrBeast to be measuring the audience.
Loveaway 2y ago
Not my cup of tea personally, but I recommend watching his interview with Lex Fridman for some behind the scenes insight. He comes across as incredible smart and knows exactly what he's doing. Also not afraid to re-invest millions of dollars into producing these videos. Obviously it's very much a for-profit endeavour. Not sure, don't think he's fooling anyone and his accomplishments deserve at least some respect I think.
- threatofrain 2y ago
  That's not even a contention here. He's a top-level YouTuber.
- piva00 2y ago
  Have you watched the video? Because the whole point of it is exposing how MrBeast is earning money by manipulating his children audience into gambling. Yeah, he cracked the code of how to milk money from children, incredible smart at what he's doing. I don't think he deserves absolutely any respect for exploiting children for profit.
- danpalmer 2y ago
  I've not seen the interview, but I'd be interested in which character comes across. "Mr Beast" is clearly a character that is played up to, visible in the YouTube videos. Behind this is Jimmy Donaldson, who seems to regularly give interviews about his motivations, and describes in a much more mature way how he just wants to create good content and be altruistic. Beneath this however is the private Jimmy Donaldson who seems like a much more cynical capitalist who knows how to manipulate and stay under the radar on the law in order to make money through illegal mechanisms (gambling). I'd assume it was the middle one that turned up in the Lex Fridman interview as with most of his interviews. The latter seems much more private.
debacle 2y ago
non-video link: https://www.reddit.com/r/AMA/comments/1e9qk2s/i_worked_for_mrbeast_from_march_to_june_2024_i/ https://www.reddit.com/r/AMA/comments/1e9qk2s/i_worked_for_m...
concerndc1tizen 2y ago
TLDR: You really should watch the whole video. He basically uses the same methods as cult leaders (e.g. Trump) to capture an audience and turn them into loyal followers, with promises of success, rewards, and in-group messaging (like MAGA hats). He uses brainwashing techniques. He is deceptive, humiliation, selective recognition, and so on. And he's using those techniques on a teenage audience that wouldn't know better, without parental supervision. And YouTube profits heavily from it, so their oversight is financially compromised. If you only have a few minutes, start watching at 14:00, and decide for yourself whether this is criminal behavior.
Areafadv 2y ago
Yutyob

22 points by Timothee 2y ago

I've always been sus of his content it seems to all be gambling, selling product, or sanitized hunger games style contests that pit struggling content creators against each other targeted at a young audience.

talldayo 2y ago
That, or the fact that he very clearly abuses charity as a public spectacle and shield against legitimate criticism. Truly, Mr. Beast's content is one step removed from the YouTubers that made homeless people dance for a $10 bill.
- jeffwask 2y ago
  I was initially going to say it was sanitized "bum fights" from early YouTube but switched to hunger games
  - JohnFen 2y ago
    Oh, the "bum fights" comparison has some resonance with me. I find his videos to be very off-putting and sometimes offensive. I generally feel like I need a shower after watching them. But I'm obviously not his target demographic, so my opinion is meaningless. I'm just reassured to learn I'm not completely alone.

wand3r 2y ago

Can someone provide a tl;dw? I don't have time to watch a 53min video, and it's tough to skip around the way one might in a structured article. Curious what the main claims are?

Peroni 2y ago
There's an element of kayfabe to a lot of MrBeast's videos. Harmless kayfabe that most rational adults can see through and not care about (selective post editing to increase tension, etc). This somehow makes MrBeast a bad man. He also seems to think that MrBeast should be 100% altruistic and that using his videos to promote products to children is bad.
- debacle 2y ago
  Children have died because they didn't know professional wrestling was fake. Something like half of young kids want to become streamers when they grow up. It's an important conversation to have.
  - Peroni 2y ago
    Children have died because they didn't know professional wrestling was fake. No-one is dying because MrBeast tells kids to subscribe and buy feastables. What conversation are we supposed to have?
    - jeffwask 2y ago
      Yet... I can see the next generation iterating on his contest style challenge videos in a more guerilla style with less resources and safety leading to a similar outcome.
    - piva00 2y ago
      The conversation about an adult YouTuber using psychological manipulation to milk children for money through gambling? No one is dying, just children being exploited. No biggie.
- drcongo 2y ago
  That's very much not what the video says.
  - 2y ago

mikub 2y ago

What works for me most of the time on youtube is to just avoid clicking on videos where people put their faces on the video thumbnail, those things always make me angry when I see them. Fortunatly youtube stoped showing me suggestions on the frontpage because I disabled watch history, so I only see the thumbnails on the sidebar when watching a video.

reportgunner 2y ago
You can just block all images on youtube using ublock origin and then you won't see thumbnails at all.

debacle 2y ago

Many/most online personalities are frauds. Being genuine is exceptionally boring and unprofitable. Being hyped so often, always taking things to their extreme, being exceptionally provocative, etc is exhausting but the meat and potatoes of the digital world. I have seen good creators reach for money and completely invert their messaging, identity, etc. I have seen the money folks drop the facade and become completely normal people. Faking sincerity is big business, and if your core audience is mostly children it's also startlingly easy. The most popular "hot tub" streamer on Twitch, before she went down her current path, was a phenomenal cosplayer, but I assume she makes 100x or 1000x what she did then. On the flipside, there are a few retired pornstars on Twitch who stream themselves gaming to...practically no one. A popular and highly controversial political streamer saw that streamers on the other side of the political spectrum saw more financial success, and inverted his persona to match. And then of course you have the litany of streamers and youtubers (even one of the most popular female streamers) forced into "retirement" because their decade or more of awful behavior comes to light. Do not idolize streamers, and, by God, do not let your children idolize them.

jeffwask 2y ago
This is why I greatly appreciate the handful of content creators I follow who don't just chase the dollar and cultivate a fan based and stay true to their original intent.
JohnFen 2y ago
> Being genuine is exceptionally boring and unprofitable. Well, "boring" is subjective. I personally find hype boring and actual authenticity (or at least an accurate enough simulation of it that I can't tell) to be very interesting. Perhaps because it's so rare. > Do not idolize streamers Do not idolize anybody, actually. Every human is too imperfect to be idolized.
- threatofrain 2y ago
  > Well, "boring" is subjective. And when you aggregate enough individuals you have something approaching objectivity. In other words, statistically speaking, what is the best poise and posture to have as a public figure? Saying that something is subjective and using an anecdote of yourself is as lazy as a cook saying they can't cook good food since everyone is different... so of course this dish should be spicy because they personally prefer it. Or you measure your audience. We can trust people like MrBeast to be measuring the audience.

Loveaway 2y ago

Not my cup of tea personally, but I recommend watching his interview with Lex Fridman for some behind the scenes insight. He comes across as incredible smart and knows exactly what he's doing. Also not afraid to re-invest millions of dollars into producing these videos. Obviously it's very much a for-profit endeavour. Not sure, don't think he's fooling anyone and his accomplishments deserve at least some respect I think.

threatofrain 2y ago
That's not even a contention here. He's a top-level YouTuber.
piva00 2y ago
Have you watched the video? Because the whole point of it is exposing how MrBeast is earning money by manipulating his children audience into gambling. Yeah, he cracked the code of how to milk money from children, incredible smart at what he's doing. I don't think he deserves absolutely any respect for exploiting children for profit.
danpalmer 2y ago
I've not seen the interview, but I'd be interested in which character comes across. "Mr Beast" is clearly a character that is played up to, visible in the YouTube videos. Behind this is Jimmy Donaldson, who seems to regularly give interviews about his motivations, and describes in a much more mature way how he just wants to create good content and be altruistic. Beneath this however is the private Jimmy Donaldson who seems like a much more cynical capitalist who knows how to manipulate and stay under the radar on the law in order to make money through illegal mechanisms (gambling). I'd assume it was the middle one that turned up in the Lex Fridman interview as with most of his interviews. The latter seems much more private.

debacle 2y ago

non-video link: https://www.reddit.com/r/AMA/comments/1e9qk2s/i_worked_for_mrbeast_from_march_to_june_2024_i/ https://www.reddit.com/r/AMA/comments/1e9qk2s/i_worked_for_m...

concerndc1tizen 2y ago

TLDR: You really should watch the whole video. He basically uses the same methods as cult leaders (e.g. Trump) to capture an audience and turn them into loyal followers, with promises of success, rewards, and in-group messaging (like MAGA hats). He uses brainwashing techniques. He is deceptive, humiliation, selective recognition, and so on. And he's using those techniques on a teenage audience that wouldn't know better, without parental supervision. And YouTube profits heavily from it, so their oversight is financially compromised. If you only have a few minutes, start watching at 14:00, and decide for yourself whether this is criminal behavior.

Areafadv 2y ago

Yutyob