Why are MrBeast's kind and charitable acts deemed problematic? Tiffany Ferguson explains: 'He's such a maximalist'

2023-05-29 16:47

'He's such a maximalist in terms of optimising content and viewer retention,' Tiffany Ferguson said

Tiffany Ferguson, a digital creator, is popularly known for her critiques and comments on YouTube. She recently targeted MrBeast, real name Jimmy Donaldson, whose popular videos have elicited a variety of emotions and whose kind and charitable acts are deemed problematic.

On YouTube, his videos have received over 26 billion views. While his fame began with viral pranks like counting to 100,000 on video, the majority of his work now focuses on charitable causes. MrBeast's YouTube fame has shifted to charitable causes, such as donating $10,000 to a homeless person and financing cataract operations for 1,000 blind people.

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'He's such a maximalist'

MrBeast's video style has made him extremely popular among teenagers. "He's such a maximalist in terms of optimising content and viewer retention," Ferguson remarked. "His motifs are all very loud and bright. And the way that he builds his content down to like the second? He knows he has to do quick edits to keep people engaged," CBC's report stated.

According to Eddy Hogg, a senior lecturer in social policy at the University of Kent in the United Kingdom, celebrities are using YouTube's engagement-driven model to encourage people to give to causes in spectacular ways, a long tradition of charity telethons.

'He gives with an eye to what is entertaining'

Others contend that MrBeast's humanitarian efforts do not address the root causes of societal unfairness. Following the video in which MrBeast paid for 1,000 cataract surgeries, he was chastized for failing to address broader issues of access to health care in some nations.

According to Matthew Wade, a lecturer at the University of Canberra in Australia, Donaldson is not a model of a selfless altruist who provides solely for the sake of others. Wade said, "He is not some coldly utilitarian, effective altruist who calculates exactly where he's giving might have the greatest impact in terms of lives saved, but he gives with an eye to what is entertaining, what makes for good visuals [and] what is an ideal kind of recipient that will play well with the audience." "He likes the responses that he gets from people," he added.

According to Wade, MrBeast gives listeners a sense of vicarious joy as well as belonging to a movement, and MrBeast's kind and charitable act has pushed for humanitarian help and food poverty. MrBeast's charitable model may be perceived as damaging, as his videos are purposefully devoid of social commentary and apolitical.