Another wave of criticism. In early August, the American YouTubeur Mrbeast launched a great challenge: to collect $ 40 million in a month through the “Team Water” project, a beneficial organization with cameraman Mark Rober to provide drinking water to two million people worldwide.
The charitable campaign, in association with the Wateraid association, hopes to finance solar wells and water evacuation systems in Malawi, Ecuador or Nepal.
“Everything out of service a year later”
But the initiative quickly raised many criticisms on social networks. Some Internet users have also accused him of building wells to give a good image. This is called “charity porn”: film your good actions to obtain as many views as possible in your channel and, therefore, money.
The detractors of Mrbeast take the example of the hundred wells built in Africa with their team in 2023. In fact, these infrastructure would not be operational, less than two years after its implementation.
“The wells that Mrbeast gave in Africa has been abandoned and no longer operates due to lack of maintenance,” added another. “The African wells of Mrbeast no longer remain and no longer work,” grows last one. This last publication has more than 22 million visits.
Accusations that Mrbeast did not miss. “People desperate for advertising have mistakenly affirmed that the 100 wells I built for needy people no longer worked, without any evidence,” he justified in an X message, on August 8.
Recurrent criticism
Since then, a page on the site of the philanthropy of his beast of the association has dedicated himself to monitoring the state of the wells he built. This page indicates the dates of its last control, as well as a video that demonstrates the use of wells to pump water.
Since then, one of his detractors responded to YouTubeur, added that his message was not an “attack” to the cameraman. “I just wanted to have evidence that the old wells are still working. Thanks for the videos,” he said, even making a donation of $ 5,000 to the water of the equipment.
This is not the first time that Internet users have accused Mrbeast of organizing philanthropy to obtain views. In 2023, the YouTubeur, for example, spent thousands of euros to restore the view of more than 1,000 people when financed its operation. Some had accused him of exploiting visual disability. Last July, the number one content creator in the world built 100 houses for needy families. Then, the users accused her of improving her career by performing charitable actions.
Given these numerous controversies, the cameraman wanted to remember that his beneficial organizations attracted fewer points of view than his other publications. “My two less efficient videos this year are the ones that helped people,” he said last April, a support screen.
Source: BFM TV
