MrBeast: benevolent YouTuber facing monster backlash

The world’s most popular YouTuber, MrBeast, has attracted criticism for his latest controversial stunt – paying to cure blindness in over 1,000 people.

The 24-year-old – whose channel has over 131m subscribers, making him the most popular YouTuber of all time – released a video over the weekend documenting his philanthropy, which has already reached over 75m views.

The video shows the YouTuber paying for cataract removal surgery for 1,000 people who had been blinded by the condition. It features “touching before-and-after footage” of patients “seeing with clear vision” after finishing the surgery, which can last just ten minutes, as well as scenes of MrBeast handing out cash donations and other gifts to participants, said CNN.

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But while the videos initially received an “overwhelmingly positive” response from audiences around the world, it soon prompted critical reactions with some accusing the YouTuber of performing a “stunt” for online “clout”, while others raised concerns about the cost and accessibility of the eye surgery, said Insider.

Who is MrBeast?

MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, is a 24-year-old YouTuber who started his channel in 2012 at the age of 13. His initial content mostly featured videos of himself “playing computer games and, ironically, estimating the wealth of other YouTubers”, said The Mirror.

The channel started “rather unsuccessfully”, said the paper, but he reached viral fame in 2017 after filming a video of himself counting to 100,000 over 44 hours. Soon realising the YouTube algorithm favoured stunts over video game reviews, he performed similar feats, such as ”spinning a fidget spinner for 24 hours or listening to a Jake Paul music video for ten hours straight”.

The MrBeast YouTube channel now boasts over 100m followers, with subscribers treated to “lavish, high-production-value videos with brightly hued thumbnails that cost $10,000 each to produce”, said Rolling Stone. The videos are paired with titles “optimised for YouTube's algorithm”, such as “Extreme $1,000,000 Hide-and-Seek” and “World’s Most Dangerous Escape Room!”, added the magazine.

MrBeast’s main draw, however, is that he offers his subscribers “a chance to get in on a MrBeast windfall”, said Rolling Stone, through outlandish sweepstakes and competitions, offering subscribers the opportunity to win hundreds of thousands of dollars for performing bizarre but mundane feats of endurance. One subscriber for example “won $100,000 by holding his finger on a MrBeast app button for more than two days straight”.

In 2021, he also launched a separate philanthropy channel, which contributes all of its revenue to building and operating food banks across the US to help feed vulnerable communities.

How does he give away so much money?

MrBeast appears to have given away “millions of dollars” to viewers since he first went viral in 2017, said The Sun. The YouTuber has explained in his videos that the huge sums he gives away help him to generate more views on his content. With each large donation, he gets millions of views on his YouTube channel. The views are a “return investment” for the YouTuber, which he profits from, as well making money through his numerous brand deals.

Famously he once donated $100,000 to his mother, who initially refused the money, before he explained: “If I don’t give it to you, I don’t have a viral video.”

Cataracts surgery controversy

MrBeast’s latest act of philanthropy, however, has now sparked major debate online with many people raising “questions and concerns over the cost and inaccessibility of eye surgery in some parts of the world”, said the BBC.

Twitch streamer Hasan Piker was one of the video’s most high-profile initial critics, telling his audience: “I watch this video and I’m filled with rage... It’s so insanely frustrating that it’s up to one YouTube guy to decide to make content out of it, that people who are too poor just can’t f***ing see.”

Another critic wrote on Twitter: “It's deeply frustrating to have to rely on a benevolent content king making feel-good videos, rather than addressing the root causes of these problems.” Another user said: “Paying for 1000 blind people to have eye surgery is a nice thing to do, but using that act of generosity into content turns it into a tacky and tasteless act of charity porn.”

Others, however, have praised MrBeast for his attempt to spread awareness over the treatable conditions. Andrew Hodgson, president of the National Federation of the Blind of the UK, told BBC Newsbeat: “Anything that puts a spotlight on such treatable eye conditions like cataracts and provides funding for people to undergo surgery to restore their sight should be welcomed.”

MrBeast himself responded to the criticism over the weekend, writing on a social media post: “Twitter – Rich people should help others with their money.

“Me - Okay, I’ll use my money to help people and I promise to give away all my money before I die. Every single penny.

“Twitter – MrBeast bad.”

He added: “I don’t understand why curable blindness is a thing. Why don’t governments step in and help?”