1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:03,240 This episode of Infinite Scroll is brought to you by Coach Love, 2 00:00:03,520 --> 00:00:06,760 the new fragrance by Coach. Inspired by all the ways we 3 00:00:06,760 --> 00:00:10,280 express love, Coach Love is a fruity floral scent that makes 4 00:00:10,280 --> 00:00:13,000 the perfect gift for your loved one or even yourself. 5 00:00:13,040 --> 00:00:17,040 This Valentine's Day, Coach Love opens with top notes of wild 6 00:00:17,040 --> 00:00:20,640 strawberry, features a rich heart note of red velvet rose, 7 00:00:20,840 --> 00:00:23,480 and dries down with a warm base note of cedar wood. 8 00:00:23,880 --> 00:00:27,240 And to celebrate Love in all its forms, Coach will be hosting an 9 00:00:27,240 --> 00:00:31,360 event and you guys are invited. The event will be on February 10 00:00:31,360 --> 00:00:36,040 15th at Amerika Grande Brasserie in Sydney from 6:00 PM to 8:15 11 00:00:36,040 --> 00:00:38,640 PM. There are 25 free spots 12 00:00:38,640 --> 00:00:41,360 available, so click the link below to reserve your free 13 00:00:41,360 --> 00:00:43,520 tickets. The event will include fragrance 14 00:00:43,520 --> 00:00:47,560 discovery, tarot card readings, canapes and sweet treats, and 15 00:00:47,560 --> 00:00:50,280 I'll be there interviewing guests about what love means to 16 00:00:50,280 --> 00:00:52,720 them. Again, reserve your free spot 17 00:00:52,720 --> 00:00:57,200 for the event at the link below. On October 11th, 2021, Jimmy 18 00:00:57,200 --> 00:01:00,160 Donaldson took to TikTok with a proposal for his audience. 19 00:01:00,520 --> 00:01:03,240 Help get this video to 10 million likes and he will 20 00:01:03,240 --> 00:01:06,440 recreate the smash Netflix series Squid game in real life. 21 00:01:06,960 --> 00:01:10,040 With a proposition like that, his TikTok quickly reached 10 22 00:01:10,040 --> 00:01:13,200 million views and within a day Jimmy was on the hook for a 23 00:01:13,200 --> 00:01:16,800 project that felt way too ambitious for any digital 24 00:01:16,800 --> 00:01:19,640 creator. But luckily for viewers, Jimmy 25 00:01:19,640 --> 00:01:24,120 is not just any digital creator. Jimmy Donaldson is the man 26 00:01:24,120 --> 00:01:27,840 behind Mr. Beast, the biggest channel on YouTube by a single 27 00:01:27,840 --> 00:01:29,840 person. And if there's one thing fans 28 00:01:29,840 --> 00:01:34,360 know about Jimmy, it's that no idea is too big and no video is 29 00:01:34,360 --> 00:01:38,000 too expensive for Mr. Beast. By mid-october, Jimmy and his 30 00:01:38,000 --> 00:01:40,320 team got to work. They partnered with finished 31 00:01:40,320 --> 00:01:43,840 video game developer Supercell to help fund the video, which 32 00:01:43,920 --> 00:01:48,280 ultimately cost a whopping $3.5 million to produce. 33 00:01:48,840 --> 00:01:51,520 The team recreated several sets from the show, like the 34 00:01:51,520 --> 00:01:54,880 Contestants Bunk Room, the Tug of War Platform and the Indoor 35 00:01:54,880 --> 00:01:59,240 playground, and Jimmy cast 456 contestants to compete in a 36 00:01:59,240 --> 00:02:03,720 series of games for a $456,000 winning prize. 37 00:02:03,960 --> 00:02:06,320 While players in the Netflix show were eliminated from the 38 00:02:06,320 --> 00:02:10,479 game via death, Jimmy awarded his eliminated contestants with 39 00:02:10,479 --> 00:02:16,360 a $2000 cash consolation prize, A classic Mr. Beast move, Mr. 40 00:02:16,360 --> 00:02:19,240 Beast's Squid Game Challenge was released on his YouTube channel 41 00:02:19,240 --> 00:02:22,480 just one month later on November 24th, 2021. 42 00:02:23,080 --> 00:02:26,440 Within days, the video helped Jimmy break four major YouTube 43 00:02:26,440 --> 00:02:29,800 records for a single creator, including the fastest video to 44 00:02:29,800 --> 00:02:33,480 reach 100 million views and the most subscribers gained in one 45 00:02:33,480 --> 00:02:35,920 day. At 1.4 million subscribers, 46 00:02:36,440 --> 00:02:39,560 nearly every mainstream media outlet was covering Mr. Beast's 47 00:02:39,560 --> 00:02:42,920 Squid game video. With such algorithmic success, 48 00:02:42,920 --> 00:02:46,040 criticism was sure to follow. Many called his version 49 00:02:46,040 --> 00:02:48,680 dystopian and felt that it completely missed the point of 50 00:02:48,680 --> 00:02:51,680 the original series, barely scratching the surface of the 51 00:02:51,680 --> 00:02:54,720 show's message about hyper capitalism and wealth disparity. 52 00:02:55,400 --> 00:02:58,120 But despite the criticism, one thing was now for sure. 53 00:02:58,520 --> 00:03:01,960 Mr. Beast had solidified himself as YouTube's most powerful 54 00:03:01,960 --> 00:03:05,840 creator, and it only took him nine years to get there. 55 00:03:06,600 --> 00:03:09,680 From Centennial World, I'm Lauren Meisner and this is 56 00:03:09,680 --> 00:03:13,720 Infinite Scroll, a podcast about Internet culture, the creator 57 00:03:13,720 --> 00:03:16,600 economy, and how social media is shaping Gen. 58 00:03:16,600 --> 00:03:19,680 Zed. Welcome back to Infinite Scroll, 59 00:03:19,680 --> 00:03:22,440 everyone. I wanted to take a minute to 60 00:03:22,440 --> 00:03:25,880 thank all of you for all of your love and support on last week's 61 00:03:25,880 --> 00:03:29,080 episode. I know the style is so different 62 00:03:29,080 --> 00:03:32,400 now from before and I so appreciate you guys sticking 63 00:03:32,400 --> 00:03:36,720 with me while I figure out how to perfect this and navigate the 64 00:03:37,000 --> 00:03:40,400 addition of the music and the different editing style and all 65 00:03:40,400 --> 00:03:42,520 of that. As you know, I do basically all 66 00:03:42,520 --> 00:03:46,160 of this myself and Annabelle helps me research and put it all 67 00:03:46,160 --> 00:03:49,120 together. It's just me, so it will take a 68 00:03:49,120 --> 00:03:53,200 little while as I figure out you know how to do it properly. 69 00:03:53,440 --> 00:03:56,400 So as always, Please remember to rate, review and subscribe. 70 00:03:56,400 --> 00:03:59,640 It means so much to me when you guys leave reviews. 71 00:03:59,640 --> 00:04:03,840 I got some great feedback last week and it just helps me grow. 72 00:04:03,840 --> 00:04:05,600 It helps me keep going, you know? 73 00:04:05,880 --> 00:04:08,640 And Please remember to sign up to our newsletter as well, also 74 00:04:08,640 --> 00:04:12,600 called Infinite Scroll. On Wednesdays we send out a 75 00:04:12,600 --> 00:04:17,160 bigger opinion piece, like an essay about a creator or a viral 76 00:04:17,160 --> 00:04:19,880 topic happening that week. And on Fridays, we round up the 77 00:04:19,880 --> 00:04:23,400 five biggest think pieces or opinion pieces on the Internet 78 00:04:23,400 --> 00:04:26,240 that week. And also please join our Geneva 79 00:04:26,240 --> 00:04:27,800 group. That is where you guys can chat 80 00:04:27,800 --> 00:04:30,440 with other people who are also obsessed with Internet culture 81 00:04:30,440 --> 00:04:34,360 and creator drama and tea. OK, I'm going to read some 82 00:04:34,360 --> 00:04:36,800 reviews every week. Again, I'm still going to keep 83 00:04:36,800 --> 00:04:39,200 this going because it brings me so much joy. 84 00:04:39,560 --> 00:04:42,880 So here are just a few that I received this week, Tara says. 85 00:04:42,880 --> 00:04:46,880 Found this one so interesting. Great EP Hottie, Rach says. 86 00:04:46,880 --> 00:04:50,440 Honestly, perfection. I loved this episode on Apple, 87 00:04:50,440 --> 00:04:52,040 one says. Well done Lauren. 88 00:04:52,040 --> 00:04:54,320 Great kickoff to your new podcast format. 89 00:04:54,480 --> 00:04:57,400 Look forward to seeing what else the podcast entails and then we 90 00:04:57,400 --> 00:05:00,080 got some feedback in Geneva as well, Emily said. 91 00:05:00,080 --> 00:05:02,400 Lauren, I just want to pop in and say that the episode was so 92 00:05:02,400 --> 00:05:05,600 good for the first solo, Can't wait for next week's and Jessica 93 00:05:05,600 --> 00:05:08,360 said agreed. Bravo Lauren, If I'm being fully 94 00:05:08,360 --> 00:05:10,760 honest, so much of what I loved about The Pod where you and 95 00:05:10,760 --> 00:05:13,560 Jordan's banter, but you brought the same energy solo with the 96 00:05:13,560 --> 00:05:16,640 info provided in an entertaining nuance and thorough fashion. 97 00:05:17,000 --> 00:05:18,920 Jordan will be missed and I look forward to her guest 98 00:05:18,920 --> 00:05:20,760 appearances. But you totally got this. 99 00:05:21,120 --> 00:05:23,560 That was so kind. You guys, thank you so much 100 00:05:23,560 --> 00:05:26,040 truly for sticking with me through this transition. 101 00:05:26,360 --> 00:05:29,080 Mr. Beast is far from an overnight success. 102 00:05:29,240 --> 00:05:32,680 The 25 year old YouTube grew up in North Carolina where he was 103 00:05:32,680 --> 00:05:36,040 raised by a single mother after his parents divorced in 2007. 104 00:05:36,160 --> 00:05:39,920 In the documentary The Origin of Mr. Beast by Stream Curiosity, 105 00:05:40,120 --> 00:05:42,880 Jimmy's mother said he would hyper fixate on projects from an 106 00:05:42,880 --> 00:05:45,560 early age. His early obsessions included 107 00:05:45,560 --> 00:05:49,040 Lego and baseball, but as he entered his preteen years, Jimmy 108 00:05:49,040 --> 00:05:51,600 would find the thing that he would hyper fixate on for the 109 00:05:51,600 --> 00:05:54,600 next decade to come. Though Jimmy loved watching 110 00:05:54,600 --> 00:05:57,560 YouTube as a kid, he didn't consider it something for him. 111 00:05:57,920 --> 00:06:01,080 That is, until he saw one of his favorite gaming creators quit 112 00:06:01,080 --> 00:06:03,200 his job and go full time on the platform. 113 00:06:03,520 --> 00:06:06,360 Jimmy was 12 at the time, and that's when he realized that 114 00:06:06,360 --> 00:06:08,280 creating YouTube videos could be a job. 115 00:06:08,280 --> 00:06:10,760 I have a memory of this one video I watched back then where 116 00:06:10,760 --> 00:06:13,960 one of my favorite creators, Woody's Gamertag, quit his job 117 00:06:13,960 --> 00:06:17,040 and went full time on YouTube. And this is like before, like a 118 00:06:17,040 --> 00:06:19,280 lot of people didn't even know you could make money on YouTube. 119 00:06:19,280 --> 00:06:21,520 Back then. I remember seeing that I was 120 00:06:21,520 --> 00:06:24,040 like 12 and it kind of just clicked in my head. 121 00:06:24,040 --> 00:06:27,520 I was like, wait a minute, you can make money doing this? 122 00:06:28,240 --> 00:06:31,360 Jimmy created his first channel where he engaged in sub for sub. 123 00:06:31,880 --> 00:06:34,760 This was a popular tactic in the early days of YouTube where 124 00:06:34,760 --> 00:06:37,440 creators would subscribe to each other's channels to help their 125 00:06:37,440 --> 00:06:40,880 sub counts grow. Jimmy quickly had over 7000 126 00:06:40,880 --> 00:06:44,960 subscribers, but his video views were dismal, like less than 10 127 00:06:44,960 --> 00:06:47,600 views of video. So he scrapped the channel and 128 00:06:47,600 --> 00:06:51,720 started a new channel called Mr. Beast 6000, named after his 129 00:06:51,720 --> 00:06:56,800 randomized Xbox gamer username. In February 2012, at thirteen 130 00:06:56,800 --> 00:07:02,640 years old, Jimmy's early content was very 13 year old boy, as 131 00:07:02,640 --> 00:07:05,040 Ryan Broderick put it in the Garbage Day newsletter. 132 00:07:05,400 --> 00:07:10,120 He was quote a teenage PewDiePie fan making gameplay videos. 133 00:07:10,480 --> 00:07:14,720 Some of the titles of his early videos include Best Minecraft 134 00:07:14,720 --> 00:07:18,640 Castle Ever, How to Get Unlimited Diamonds, Minecraft 135 00:07:18,840 --> 00:07:23,080 Brackets, X-ray, Most Epic Thing in Minecraft with a Million 136 00:07:23,080 --> 00:07:24,840 exclamation Marks and Question Marks. 137 00:07:25,360 --> 00:07:28,480 A close childhood friend of Jimmy's, Chris Tyson, helped him 138 00:07:28,480 --> 00:07:31,440 start the Mr. Beast channel. She soon became an important 139 00:07:31,440 --> 00:07:34,840 part of the Channel Co hosting and appearing in many of the Mr. 140 00:07:34,840 --> 00:07:38,280 Beast YouTube videos. Note Chris now uses she her 141 00:07:38,280 --> 00:07:41,680 pronouns but was using he him at the time that Jimmy started the 142 00:07:41,680 --> 00:07:44,600 Mr. Beast channel. On the beginnings of Mr. Beast 143 00:07:44,600 --> 00:07:48,160 Chris says quote, he started making commentary style YouTube 144 00:07:48,160 --> 00:07:51,040 videos which is like you have somebody playing a video game 145 00:07:51,240 --> 00:07:53,560 then you're just talking over giving your opinions about 146 00:07:53,560 --> 00:07:54,960 stuff. He started doing that for a 147 00:07:54,960 --> 00:07:57,960 while which kind of turned into a new series that he started 148 00:07:58,200 --> 00:08:00,720 where he was talking about Youtubers and how much money 149 00:08:00,720 --> 00:08:02,960 they make. Jimmy also tried his hand at 150 00:08:02,960 --> 00:08:06,400 skits and comedic videos, but didn't find much success with 151 00:08:06,400 --> 00:08:09,280 this style of content. He would later joke about his 152 00:08:09,280 --> 00:08:12,880 attempt on the Colin and Samir show, saying he is not naturally 153 00:08:12,880 --> 00:08:16,160 funny, which is why these videos, which were wildly 154 00:08:16,160 --> 00:08:18,600 popular at the time, just didn't stick for him. 155 00:08:18,960 --> 00:08:21,920 One of the most endearing things about Jimmy that I found in 156 00:08:21,920 --> 00:08:24,640 researching this episode is his tenacity. 157 00:08:25,080 --> 00:08:29,840 He did not have a fast track to YouTube success, but persevered 158 00:08:29,840 --> 00:08:33,240 for years Despite that. Two years after starting his 159 00:08:33,240 --> 00:08:36,039 channel, Jimmy posted a video revealing that it took him 160 00:08:36,039 --> 00:08:40,159 75,000 views to make his first $100 off of YouTube. 161 00:08:40,360 --> 00:08:42,919 He said quote I am making around $30.00 a month. 162 00:08:43,000 --> 00:08:45,480 That is what I am averaging right now throughout high 163 00:08:45,480 --> 00:08:47,280 school. Jimmy will launch two series 164 00:08:47,280 --> 00:08:50,640 that helped his channel grow. One, as I mentioned before, 165 00:08:50,640 --> 00:08:53,480 where he would talk about what he presumed other Youtubers were 166 00:08:53,480 --> 00:08:57,960 making from Adsense, and another where he poked fun at the worst 167 00:08:57,960 --> 00:09:02,000 YouTube video intros. In a March 2016 video that was 168 00:09:02,000 --> 00:09:05,440 part of his worst video intro series, he opened up about 169 00:09:05,440 --> 00:09:08,240 feeling the push and pull between doing YouTube for growth 170 00:09:08,560 --> 00:09:12,040 or simply because he enjoys it. Jimmy finished high school later 171 00:09:12,040 --> 00:09:14,960 that year in 2016 before starting college at East 172 00:09:14,960 --> 00:09:18,360 Carolina University. Jimmy's mother was insistent on 173 00:09:18,360 --> 00:09:20,880 him attending college if he was going to stay living under her 174 00:09:20,880 --> 00:09:24,320 roof, and she wasn't yet aware of his double life as a YouTube. 175 00:09:25,160 --> 00:09:28,080 So Jimmy went to college to appease his mom, but instead of 176 00:09:28,080 --> 00:09:30,960 attending classes, Jimmy spent most of his time editing and 177 00:09:30,960 --> 00:09:34,200 making videos. It was around this time when his 178 00:09:34,200 --> 00:09:37,640 viewership started rising and his Adsense was finally enough 179 00:09:37,840 --> 00:09:40,120 that he could afford to move out of his mom's house. 180 00:09:40,560 --> 00:09:44,000 This growth was largely thanks to his switch to challenge based 181 00:09:44,000 --> 00:09:48,280 videos like filming himself cutting a table in half with a 182 00:09:48,280 --> 00:09:51,840 plastic knife quote. I just stopped going to classes 183 00:09:51,840 --> 00:09:54,880 and I just didn't tell my mom I would film videos while I was at 184 00:09:54,880 --> 00:09:56,880 college. But somehow when I got there, 185 00:09:56,880 --> 00:09:59,880 maybe I got a big spark of motivation and went harder. 186 00:10:00,040 --> 00:10:03,080 But that's when things actually clicked and my viewership did 187 00:10:03,080 --> 00:10:06,080 start to go up quite a bit. After just a couple of weeks, 188 00:10:06,080 --> 00:10:08,320 Jimmy told his mom he was dropping out of college and 189 00:10:08,320 --> 00:10:11,600 would move out the next day. As his channel grew, Jimmy hired 190 00:10:11,600 --> 00:10:14,880 four of his childhood friends, Chris, Chandler, Garrett, and 191 00:10:14,880 --> 00:10:17,800 Jake. In January 2017, Jimmy had his 192 00:10:17,800 --> 00:10:20,960 first breakthrough moment. Five years after starting the 193 00:10:20,960 --> 00:10:25,680 Mr. Beast channel, he posted an almost 24 hour long video 194 00:10:25,920 --> 00:10:30,320 counting to 100,000. Counting to 100,000 actually 195 00:10:30,320 --> 00:10:34,040 took him 40 hours, but Jimmy had to keep the video under 24 hours 196 00:10:34,040 --> 00:10:37,240 for editing purposes, so he speed up parts of the video. 197 00:10:37,240 --> 00:10:41,120 This marked the beginning of the Mr. Beast we now know, a channel 198 00:10:41,120 --> 00:10:44,000 specializing in insane challenges. 199 00:10:44,520 --> 00:10:49,240 He went on to post videos like microwaving a microwave, reading 200 00:10:49,240 --> 00:10:53,160 the entire B movie script, watching its everyday bro for 10 201 00:10:53,160 --> 00:10:57,760 hours straight, and saying Logan Paul's name 100,000 times quote. 202 00:10:57,920 --> 00:11:00,480 That's when I kind of just realized, like, if I go all in, 203 00:11:00,480 --> 00:11:04,120 I really be creative and unique and I do things that just no one 204 00:11:04,120 --> 00:11:07,160 else would do because they're so hard and take so much effort, 205 00:11:07,160 --> 00:11:09,160 right? People have no choice but to 206 00:11:09,160 --> 00:11:11,200 watch it because it's just so interesting. 207 00:11:11,600 --> 00:11:14,000 While Jimmy embraced stunt based content at the beginning of 208 00:11:14,000 --> 00:11:17,640 2017, the philanthropic twist to his videos came a few months 209 00:11:17,640 --> 00:11:20,480 later. In mid 2017, Jimmy was offered 210 00:11:20,480 --> 00:11:22,840 his first brand deal with the app Quid. 211 00:11:23,240 --> 00:11:26,920 The brand offered him $5000, which he ended up turning down 212 00:11:27,240 --> 00:11:30,560 instead. Jimmy asked for $10,000 so he 213 00:11:30,560 --> 00:11:34,000 could give it to a homeless person and film the interaction 214 00:11:34,000 --> 00:11:36,280 for YouTube. He said it took a lot of 215 00:11:36,280 --> 00:11:39,640 convincing, but the brand finally agreed, so long as the 216 00:11:39,640 --> 00:11:43,840 video went viral. On June 16th, 2017, Jimmy 217 00:11:43,840 --> 00:11:47,760 released the video titled Giving a Random Homeless man $10,000, 218 00:11:48,000 --> 00:11:51,320 marking a significant turning point in the Mr. Beast Channel 219 00:11:51,600 --> 00:11:54,480 and in Jimmy's career. This is not clickbait. 220 00:11:54,480 --> 00:11:58,720 I'm going to give a random homeless guy $10,000 today. 221 00:11:58,920 --> 00:12:02,040 He went on to make several similar videos that year, like 222 00:12:02,080 --> 00:12:05,320 others where he gave more money to homeless people and one where 223 00:12:05,320 --> 00:12:08,200 he tipped pizza delivery drivers hundreds of dollars. 224 00:12:08,680 --> 00:12:11,640 This started Jimmy's cycle of using the money he made from one 225 00:12:11,640 --> 00:12:14,200 video to reinvest in the following video. 226 00:12:14,960 --> 00:12:18,000 Not only did these videos do really well, but Jimmy later 227 00:12:18,000 --> 00:12:20,400 said that once he saw the impact he could make through his 228 00:12:20,400 --> 00:12:23,560 content, he realized he wanted to do more philanthropy. 229 00:12:23,720 --> 00:12:26,880 Quote I want to use brands to allow me to help people. 230 00:12:27,160 --> 00:12:31,320 By November 2017, Mr. Beast reached 1,000,000 subscribers. 231 00:12:31,760 --> 00:12:35,720 Jimmy met Talent manager Reed Dusher in 2018, and they began 232 00:12:35,720 --> 00:12:38,360 working together. When they met, Reed said Jimmy 233 00:12:38,360 --> 00:12:40,960 was giving away basically all of the money he was making. 234 00:12:41,640 --> 00:12:44,200 This earned Jimmy the title of YouTube's biggest 235 00:12:44,200 --> 00:12:48,520 philanthropist, having given away over $1,000,000 in one year 236 00:12:48,520 --> 00:12:52,240 of these charity videos. 2018 was also the first time when 237 00:12:52,240 --> 00:12:55,840 Jimmy really flexed his wealth and influence during the 238 00:12:55,840 --> 00:12:59,680 PewDiePie versus T Series rivalry, which was essentially a 239 00:12:59,680 --> 00:13:03,600 competition between creator PewDiePie and an Indian record 240 00:13:03,600 --> 00:13:06,400 label to become the first channel to reach 100 million 241 00:13:06,400 --> 00:13:09,560 subscribers. Jimmy publicly and financially 242 00:13:09,560 --> 00:13:12,360 backed PewDiePie, buying billboards and numerous 243 00:13:12,360 --> 00:13:15,480 television and radio ads to promote Pewdiepie's channel. 244 00:13:15,520 --> 00:13:18,600 During the Super Bowl that year, Jimmy also bought multiple seats 245 00:13:18,600 --> 00:13:21,920 for himself and his team whose shirts spelled out sub to 246 00:13:21,960 --> 00:13:24,320 PewDiePie. Though T Series ended up winning 247 00:13:24,320 --> 00:13:29,360 the battle, Jimmy's ability to help the most popular single 248 00:13:29,360 --> 00:13:33,720 YouTube creator in the world at the time gain millions of 249 00:13:33,720 --> 00:13:37,120 subscribers was a wake up call to the YouTube world. 250 00:13:37,560 --> 00:13:41,120 Mr. Beast was one of the most powerful people online. 251 00:13:41,920 --> 00:13:45,360 He finished out 2018 with 13 million subscribers. 252 00:13:45,960 --> 00:13:49,520 Jimmy took his philanthropy to the next level in October 2019 253 00:13:49,520 --> 00:13:53,200 when he announced Team Trees, a fundraising challenge on YouTube 254 00:13:53,200 --> 00:13:57,160 with the goal of reaching $20 million to plant 20 million 255 00:13:57,160 --> 00:14:01,880 trees to celebrate 20 million subscribers on his channel by 256 00:14:01,880 --> 00:14:06,360 January 1st, 2020, giving himself just two months to hit 257 00:14:06,360 --> 00:14:09,680 that fundraising goal. Jimmy collaborated with NASA 258 00:14:09,680 --> 00:14:12,640 Engineer and YouTube Mark Rober on this project. 259 00:14:12,840 --> 00:14:15,800 Together they tapped into their network of influencer colleagues 260 00:14:16,040 --> 00:14:19,240 and many promoted the initiative for them for free on their 261 00:14:19,240 --> 00:14:21,720 channels. Notable business people like 262 00:14:21,720 --> 00:14:26,640 Jack Dorsey, Elon Musk, and Susan Wojcicki also donated to 263 00:14:26,640 --> 00:14:29,680 the cause. By December 19th, Team Trees had 264 00:14:29,680 --> 00:14:33,640 raised $20 million, which they donated to the Arbor Foundation. 265 00:14:33,800 --> 00:14:38,520 Team Trees later led to Team CS, a similar initiative by the two 266 00:14:38,520 --> 00:14:42,240 Youtubers, with the goal to raise $30 million to clean 267 00:14:42,280 --> 00:14:45,000 30,000,000 lbs of trash out of the ocean. 268 00:14:45,200 --> 00:14:48,720 The project was in collaboration with Ocean Cleanup, and this 269 00:14:48,720 --> 00:14:52,000 partnership was highly controversial, as Molly Taft 270 00:14:52,000 --> 00:14:55,560 writes for Gizmodo Quote. But before the team sees 271 00:14:55,560 --> 00:14:59,040 campaign even began, it was a source of controversy with some 272 00:14:59,040 --> 00:15:01,000 scientists in the YouTuber community. 273 00:15:01,600 --> 00:15:04,040 That's because it's being done in partnership with the Ocean 274 00:15:04,040 --> 00:15:07,440 Clean Up, a group that has come under widespread criticism by 275 00:15:07,440 --> 00:15:10,720 scientists for its techniques to scoop up plastic from the open 276 00:15:10,720 --> 00:15:13,760 ocean. In September 2020, Jimmy doubled 277 00:15:13,760 --> 00:15:17,200 down on his Do Gooder reputation and launched a new YouTube 278 00:15:17,200 --> 00:15:19,040 channel called Beast Philanthropy. 279 00:15:19,520 --> 00:15:21,920 It was through this channel that he would raise more than $1 280 00:15:21,920 --> 00:15:25,040 million in supplies for food banks to help service those 281 00:15:25,040 --> 00:15:27,240 around the country who suffered during COVID. 282 00:15:28,120 --> 00:15:31,200 In the Curiosity Stream documentary, Jimmy describes 283 00:15:31,200 --> 00:15:34,600 Beast Philanthropy as a food bank funded by YouTube channel. 284 00:15:35,520 --> 00:15:38,560 Following the success of his new career launch, Jimmy dabbled in 285 00:15:38,560 --> 00:15:41,840 other business ventures outside of YouTube like Mr. Beast Burger 286 00:15:41,840 --> 00:15:45,280 and festivals. Launching IN2020IN partnership 287 00:15:45,280 --> 00:15:48,680 with Virtual Dining Concepts Mr., Beast Burger was initially 288 00:15:48,680 --> 00:15:51,840 a delivery only American style fast food chain offering 289 00:15:51,840 --> 00:15:54,960 burgers, sandwiches and fries. The first two years were a 290 00:15:54,960 --> 00:15:58,480 massive success for the YouTuber with Mr. Beast Burger opening 291 00:15:58,480 --> 00:16:02,520 over 300 delivery only locations across the United States and 292 00:16:02,520 --> 00:16:05,400 selling over 1,000,000 burgers and less than three months. 293 00:16:06,040 --> 00:16:09,440 As Alicia Kelso writes for Forbes Quote, within its first 294 00:16:09,440 --> 00:16:11,960 quarter Mr., Beast Burger launched in partnership with 295 00:16:11,960 --> 00:16:15,600 Virtual Dining Concepts, had about 300 locations available on 296 00:16:15,600 --> 00:16:18,720 digital marketplaces, and hit its one millionth burger sold 297 00:16:18,720 --> 00:16:20,880 milestone. The brand swiftly became the 298 00:16:20,880 --> 00:16:24,120 most downloaded app on both iTunes and Google Play and was 299 00:16:24,120 --> 00:16:27,480 one of the top five most popular Google searches worldwide. 300 00:16:28,160 --> 00:16:31,200 Mr. Beast Burger instantly proved it could find success 301 00:16:31,200 --> 00:16:34,040 without a prominent storefront or convenient drive through or 302 00:16:34,040 --> 00:16:37,360 hefty marketing budget leverage by many of its global burger 303 00:16:37,360 --> 00:16:39,920 peers. Soon the YouTube proved that 304 00:16:39,920 --> 00:16:42,680 their delivery model wasn't the only path to success. 305 00:16:43,080 --> 00:16:45,840 Opening the first brick and mortar Mr. Beast Burger store in 306 00:16:45,840 --> 00:16:49,680 Rutherford, NJ last year, the store was an instant hit with 307 00:16:49,680 --> 00:16:53,040 Mr. Beast Burger, breaking the record for, quote the most 308 00:16:53,040 --> 00:16:56,200 burger sold in a single day by a single restaurant. 309 00:16:56,360 --> 00:16:59,120 Jimmy has since distanced himself from Mr. Beast Burger 310 00:16:59,120 --> 00:17:02,760 after noting issues with quality control in a deleted tweet from 311 00:17:02,760 --> 00:17:04,640 June last year. Jimmy wrote quote. 312 00:17:04,920 --> 00:17:07,880 I started Mr. Beast Burger to help restaurants make more money 313 00:17:07,880 --> 00:17:09,520 during the pandemic and it worked. 314 00:17:09,599 --> 00:17:12,560 But sadly, when working with 2000 restaurants that I don't 315 00:17:12,560 --> 00:17:15,160 own, it's impossible to guarantee the order quality. 316 00:17:15,280 --> 00:17:18,480 When asked if he plans to retire Mr. Beast Burger and close 317 00:17:18,480 --> 00:17:21,440 specific locations, the influencers shared that due to 318 00:17:21,440 --> 00:17:24,480 contractual obligations, he has limited control over the future 319 00:17:24,480 --> 00:17:27,119 of the business. Festivals, on the other hand, 320 00:17:27,119 --> 00:17:29,920 which is Mr. B's brand of chocolate bars that launched in 321 00:17:29,920 --> 00:17:33,960 2022, has been a success. The Chocolate bars are sold in 322 00:17:33,960 --> 00:17:37,680 grocery and department stores worldwide, and in 2023, Jimmy 323 00:17:37,680 --> 00:17:40,120 announced that festivals had teamed up with the Charlotte 324 00:17:40,120 --> 00:17:43,640 Hornets to debut a new logo and become their official jersey 325 00:17:43,640 --> 00:17:47,840 patch sponsor of the 2023-2024 NBA season. 326 00:17:48,640 --> 00:17:52,080 Now, it wouldn't be the story of Mr. Beast if I didn't cover the 327 00:17:52,080 --> 00:17:55,720 criticism and questions around his philanthropic content. 328 00:17:55,960 --> 00:18:00,320 So if you're a Mr. Beast simp, I suggest you click out now. 329 00:18:00,600 --> 00:18:04,240 Despite his success on YouTube for years Jimmy struggled to 330 00:18:04,240 --> 00:18:07,280 break into the mainstream. His audience was largely made-up 331 00:18:07,280 --> 00:18:11,320 of preteen boys who like to play video games and other creators 332 00:18:11,320 --> 00:18:13,560 who admired his dedication to the craft. 333 00:18:14,320 --> 00:18:18,240 His 2021 Squid Game video changed all of that, but with 334 00:18:18,240 --> 00:18:21,400 more notoriety amongst people who had fully developed 335 00:18:21,400 --> 00:18:24,920 prefrontal cortexes, Jimmy started to face a level of 336 00:18:24,920 --> 00:18:27,360 criticism he was not previously used to. 337 00:18:27,480 --> 00:18:31,520 And this criticism has shown the cracks in the Mr. Beast facade. 338 00:18:31,800 --> 00:18:34,640 The criticism against Jimmy actually starts at the root of 339 00:18:34,640 --> 00:18:37,600 what he claims to care about most philanthropy. 340 00:18:37,760 --> 00:18:41,880 Now, whenever somebody questions Jimmy's intentions, that person 341 00:18:41,880 --> 00:18:46,000 is met with a gaggle of fans who say, undoubtedly that charity 342 00:18:46,000 --> 00:18:49,600 equals good. So if Mr. Beast is doing 343 00:18:49,600 --> 00:18:53,720 charity, no matter how he does it, it must be a good thing. 344 00:18:54,120 --> 00:18:57,880 And if charity work is a good thing, then Mr. Beast must be a 345 00:18:57,880 --> 00:19:00,520 good person. And if you're criticizing Mr. 346 00:19:00,520 --> 00:19:04,800 Beast, you must be a bad person. So while yes, the money that 347 00:19:04,800 --> 00:19:07,840 Jimmy has given away and the work that Beast Philanthropy has 348 00:19:07,840 --> 00:19:12,600 done has no doubt changed lives, let's zoom out for a minute and 349 00:19:12,600 --> 00:19:15,800 consider the problems with philanthropy as an industry. 350 00:19:16,480 --> 00:19:18,880 Private philanthropy has increased dramatically in the 351 00:19:18,880 --> 00:19:22,480 past 20 years, with nearly 3/4 of the world's philanthropic 352 00:19:22,480 --> 00:19:25,000 foundations being established during that time. 353 00:19:25,760 --> 00:19:29,280 British journalist Paul Vallely reports that between all of 354 00:19:29,280 --> 00:19:34,960 them, these foundations control more than 1.5 trillion USD. 355 00:19:35,960 --> 00:19:38,560 One of the main issues with private philanthropy is that 356 00:19:38,560 --> 00:19:41,400 it's always an quote expression of power. 357 00:19:42,080 --> 00:19:45,120 It's a super rich individual picking and choosing the causes 358 00:19:45,120 --> 00:19:49,400 that matter to them, as opposed to, say, paying their fair share 359 00:19:49,400 --> 00:19:52,360 of taxes. It lets the Super rich live out 360 00:19:52,360 --> 00:19:55,120 their God complex. They believe the answer to the 361 00:19:55,120 --> 00:19:58,000 world's problems is private philanthropy because they 362 00:19:58,000 --> 00:20:01,360 believe that they know where the money should go, that they know 363 00:20:01,360 --> 00:20:04,600 better than governments or local members of that society. 364 00:20:05,160 --> 00:20:08,360 This can sometimes contradict or undermine the priorities of a 365 00:20:08,360 --> 00:20:11,280 community. David Callahan, the founder and 366 00:20:11,280 --> 00:20:13,760 editor of Inside Philanthropy, puts it this way. 367 00:20:14,560 --> 00:20:18,240 Quote When donors hold views we detest, we tend to see them as 368 00:20:18,240 --> 00:20:20,760 unfairly tilting policy debates with their money. 369 00:20:20,840 --> 00:20:23,960 Yet when we like their causes, we often view them as heroically 370 00:20:23,960 --> 00:20:26,960 stepping forward to level the playing field against powerful 371 00:20:26,960 --> 00:20:30,280 special interests or backward public majorities. 372 00:20:30,600 --> 00:20:33,480 These sort of a la carte reactions don't make a lot of 373 00:20:33,480 --> 00:20:34,600 sense. Really. 374 00:20:34,600 --> 00:20:37,640 The question should be whether we think it's OK overall for any 375 00:20:37,640 --> 00:20:40,680 philanthropist to have so much power to advance their own 376 00:20:40,680 --> 00:20:44,160 vision of a better society. We see this God complex 377 00:20:44,160 --> 00:20:48,120 mentality through Mr. Beast's content and we also see those a 378 00:20:48,160 --> 00:20:50,920 la carte reactions to Mr. Beast's content from his 379 00:20:50,920 --> 00:20:54,240 audience. Jimmy doesn't ever address wider 380 00:20:54,240 --> 00:20:58,480 systemic issues at play in his videos, and he absolutely always 381 00:20:58,480 --> 00:21:03,280 centers himself in the videos. His videos are about him giving 382 00:21:03,280 --> 00:21:06,760 back, not about the issues that he's covering in his videos. 383 00:21:07,400 --> 00:21:10,240 YouTube The Tabernacle puts it like this quote. 384 00:21:10,240 --> 00:21:14,080 Mr. Beast uses poverty as a backdrop to make himself look 385 00:21:14,080 --> 00:21:16,360 better. He'll show himself giving money 386 00:21:16,360 --> 00:21:19,720 to homeless people, tipping minimum wage workers, hundreds 387 00:21:19,720 --> 00:21:23,600 of dollars, giving people free food at his food bank, paying 388 00:21:23,600 --> 00:21:25,320 for medical procedures for people. 389 00:21:25,560 --> 00:21:29,480 But he doesn't touch on why these people, most who live in 390 00:21:29,480 --> 00:21:33,560 America, the richest country in the world, need a millionaire 391 00:21:33,560 --> 00:21:36,760 YouTube to help them afford basic necessities. 392 00:21:37,160 --> 00:21:40,360 He says one of his biggest motivators is helping people. 393 00:21:40,720 --> 00:21:44,120 But one off handouts from a millionaire on camera doesn't do 394 00:21:44,120 --> 00:21:46,960 anything to help society as a whole long term. 395 00:21:47,720 --> 00:21:49,560 And his audience plays into this. 396 00:21:49,800 --> 00:21:53,240 There are several videos on the Mr. Beast channel that take us 397 00:21:53,240 --> 00:21:56,400 through people's living conditions, show us their car, 398 00:21:56,640 --> 00:21:59,400 paint a picture of vulnerability, poverty and 399 00:21:59,400 --> 00:22:03,600 desperation, and then to make us feel better about Americans 400 00:22:03,600 --> 00:22:06,760 living in these conditions, Jimmy swoops in and saves them 401 00:22:06,760 --> 00:22:10,160 by handing them a wad of cash or an iPad or something. 402 00:22:10,480 --> 00:22:14,400 And as viewers, we connect with the struggle of these people, so 403 00:22:14,480 --> 00:22:18,600 it's easier for us to see Mr. Beast, as Callahan put it, 404 00:22:18,920 --> 00:22:22,080 heroically stepping forward to level the playing field. 405 00:22:23,240 --> 00:22:26,160 But this general acceptance of Mr. Beast? 406 00:22:26,160 --> 00:22:30,560 Charity porn, It feels so opposite of what we accept from 407 00:22:30,560 --> 00:22:32,920 other people. It wasn't that long ago that a 408 00:22:32,920 --> 00:22:36,960 TikTok creator basically got run off the platform for filming 409 00:22:36,960 --> 00:22:39,960 herself handing a sleeping homeless man some food. 410 00:22:40,040 --> 00:22:42,400 So why do we accept this from Mr. Beast? 411 00:22:42,600 --> 00:22:45,960 Two other major issues with private philanthropy are the tax 412 00:22:45,960 --> 00:22:49,480 incentives and the threat it poses to democracy. 413 00:22:49,600 --> 00:22:52,640 Nicholas Lemon for The New Yorker writes, quote, donations 414 00:22:52,640 --> 00:22:56,280 to nonprofit organizations are tax deductible, and only people 415 00:22:56,280 --> 00:23:00,080 who itemize their deductions, that is, affluent people get 416 00:23:00,080 --> 00:23:02,760 this advantage. Foundation endowments are not 417 00:23:02,760 --> 00:23:05,400 taxed. What's more, donors often try to 418 00:23:05,400 --> 00:23:08,560 leverage their gifts to influence the direction of much 419 00:23:08,560 --> 00:23:10,800 larger flows of government spending. 420 00:23:11,560 --> 00:23:15,360 So while Jimmy claims to, you know, give all of his money away 421 00:23:15,600 --> 00:23:18,840 and that he loses money on every video, there have long been 422 00:23:18,840 --> 00:23:22,360 questions about his tax breaks and his business write offs, 423 00:23:22,360 --> 00:23:25,800 especially following the formation of Beast Philanthropy. 424 00:23:26,320 --> 00:23:30,360 Now you might be thinking, well, Mr. Beast Philanthropy is at an 425 00:23:30,360 --> 00:23:33,280 individual level. He's giving away lots of money 426 00:23:33,280 --> 00:23:36,720 to individual people, as opposed to writing donations for bigger 427 00:23:36,720 --> 00:23:40,000 causes that could influence government spending or public 428 00:23:40,000 --> 00:23:43,560 policies. So that must be less insidious, 429 00:23:43,560 --> 00:23:46,080 right? Well, let's look at his most 430 00:23:46,080 --> 00:23:48,800 controversial video to date and his reaction to that 431 00:23:48,800 --> 00:23:52,920 controversy, because how he responded to the backlash really 432 00:23:52,920 --> 00:23:57,080 showed his cards. In January 2023, Jimmy posted a 433 00:23:57,080 --> 00:24:01,440 video quote UN quote curing blindness in 1000 people. 434 00:24:02,280 --> 00:24:05,840 In the video he paid for 1000 surgeries for blind patients 435 00:24:05,840 --> 00:24:08,640 where the surgery is not available or accessible, 436 00:24:08,920 --> 00:24:12,640 including the US, Mexico, Indonesia, Brazil, Vietnam, 437 00:24:12,640 --> 00:24:16,320 Kenya and Jamaica. In this video, he also gave away 438 00:24:16,320 --> 00:24:20,720 $10,000 to select patients, $50,000 to someone about to 439 00:24:20,720 --> 00:24:24,720 start college, and a Tesla to a patient who always wanted a car. 440 00:24:25,680 --> 00:24:28,720 This video was a turning point in the public perception of Mr. 441 00:24:28,720 --> 00:24:31,520 Beast. Twitter user at LOL Overruled 442 00:24:31,520 --> 00:24:33,400 shared a screenshot of the video writing. 443 00:24:33,760 --> 00:24:36,560 There is something so demonic about this and I can't even 444 00:24:36,560 --> 00:24:40,000 articulate what it is. That tweet went viral and 445 00:24:40,000 --> 00:24:42,600 thousands of people quote tweeted it, sharing their own 446 00:24:42,600 --> 00:24:46,080 thoughts on Mr. Beast's charity for views brand of content. 447 00:24:46,280 --> 00:24:49,200 Many said that Mister Beast's content can be exploitative for 448 00:24:49,200 --> 00:24:51,800 those involved. Others noted that his altruism 449 00:24:51,800 --> 00:24:55,160 is both publicized and monetized, often making millions 450 00:24:55,160 --> 00:24:58,440 of dollars from these videos, whether he personally pockets 451 00:24:58,440 --> 00:25:00,960 the money or not. Quote, if he was doing this out 452 00:25:00,960 --> 00:25:03,480 of the goodness of his heart, he wouldn't publicize it. 453 00:25:03,680 --> 00:25:06,480 The fact that he's clearly doing this for content gives me the 454 00:25:06,480 --> 00:25:10,640 feeling that he is involved in some truly evil shit, wrote at 455 00:25:10,640 --> 00:25:13,640 Kaiser Beams. Alex Kranz, managing Editor at 456 00:25:13,640 --> 00:25:17,880 The Verge, compared Mr. Beast to an early 2010's Elon Musk 457 00:25:18,240 --> 00:25:21,040 because quote, he's a wealthy man who loves to market his 458 00:25:21,040 --> 00:25:24,600 altruism as entertainment to build himself more wealth. 459 00:25:25,280 --> 00:25:28,800 This comparison to Elon Musk is something Jimmy gets a lot, but 460 00:25:28,800 --> 00:25:32,160 he himself is an admitted fan of Elon Musk, or at least used to 461 00:25:32,160 --> 00:25:35,640 be, so I doubt he takes this comparison as a bad thing. 462 00:25:35,920 --> 00:25:38,800 Tech journalist Steven Aquino said that as a blind person 463 00:25:38,800 --> 00:25:41,240 himself, the video rubbed him the wrong way. 464 00:25:41,920 --> 00:25:43,600 Quote. There's a new video out from a 465 00:25:43,600 --> 00:25:46,560 highly prominent YouTube on curing blindness that really 466 00:25:46,560 --> 00:25:49,720 rubs me the wrong way. It's literally a bunch of abled 467 00:25:49,720 --> 00:25:53,000 people effectively shouting that having a disability is bad and 468 00:25:53,000 --> 00:25:55,800 less than This is your problem, abled friends. 469 00:25:56,040 --> 00:25:59,600 You keep conflating altruism with ableism, and we get let's 470 00:25:59,600 --> 00:26:02,960 cure people like your Jesus. The video didn't address any 471 00:26:02,960 --> 00:26:05,960 larger problem, like what factors may lead to this type of 472 00:26:05,960 --> 00:26:09,080 blindness, or the systemic issues that prevent people from 473 00:26:09,080 --> 00:26:11,360 affording this very quick, simple surgery. 474 00:26:11,680 --> 00:26:14,320 A surgery that is covered by universal healthcare in many 475 00:26:14,320 --> 00:26:17,440 countries, as Twitch streamer Amy C3 put it. 476 00:26:17,920 --> 00:26:21,080 Quote If your content revolves around you proving that you are 477 00:26:21,080 --> 00:26:24,440 a good person by finding people who are incredibly vulnerable, 478 00:26:24,800 --> 00:26:27,600 exploiting them, and then humiliating them in front of 479 00:26:27,600 --> 00:26:30,440 millions of people, I don't think that you are really 480 00:26:30,440 --> 00:26:33,960 spearheading any real movement other than your own goals of 481 00:26:33,960 --> 00:26:36,440 advancement. And about those random prizes 482 00:26:36,440 --> 00:26:38,520 that Jimmy gives people throughout the video, in 483 00:26:38,520 --> 00:26:40,720 addition to paying for the eye surgery. 484 00:26:41,400 --> 00:26:43,920 That is a calculated move to increase retention on his 485 00:26:43,920 --> 00:26:47,200 videos, which he openly discussed on the Colin and Samir 486 00:26:47,200 --> 00:26:49,800 podcast. As his video faced increasing 487 00:26:49,800 --> 00:26:53,120 criticism online, Jimmy took to Twitter in what journalist Ryan 488 00:26:53,120 --> 00:26:55,160 Broderick called a charity tantrum. 489 00:26:55,560 --> 00:26:58,920 Jimmy wrote Twitter Rich people should help others with their 490 00:26:58,920 --> 00:27:00,360 money. Me. 491 00:27:00,880 --> 00:27:03,000 OK, I'll use my money to help people. 492 00:27:03,000 --> 00:27:05,680 And I promise to give away all my money before I die. 493 00:27:06,000 --> 00:27:10,440 Every single penny. Twitter Mr. Beast bad Despite 494 00:27:10,440 --> 00:27:13,200 millions of comments of people praising him for helping these 495 00:27:13,200 --> 00:27:16,720 1000 people see again, Jimmy could not handle that there was 496 00:27:16,720 --> 00:27:19,800 a subset of people online who were critical of his video and 497 00:27:19,800 --> 00:27:23,240 skeptical of his intentions. This is a bizarre reaction to 498 00:27:23,240 --> 00:27:25,960 have given. Mr. Beast is now the largest 499 00:27:25,960 --> 00:27:29,520 YouTube channel on the platform by a single creator with over 500 00:27:29,520 --> 00:27:34,360 237,000,000 subscribers. It should not be controversial 501 00:27:34,360 --> 00:27:37,600 to critique and question the influence of the largest digital 502 00:27:37,600 --> 00:27:40,600 creator of our time. Not to mention, two things can 503 00:27:40,600 --> 00:27:43,560 be true at once. Jimmy can be changing lives 504 00:27:43,560 --> 00:27:46,240 while also exploiting those same people's lives. 505 00:27:46,640 --> 00:27:50,440 He can be changing lives while also feeding his own ego and 506 00:27:50,440 --> 00:27:54,440 building his own wealth because his philanthropy comes with 507 00:27:54,440 --> 00:27:57,840 strings attached. You have to agree to be in a Mr. 508 00:27:57,840 --> 00:28:00,520 Beast video. You have to agree to open 509 00:28:00,520 --> 00:28:03,920 yourself and your circumstances up to millions of people for 510 00:28:03,920 --> 00:28:07,320 consumption and judgment. Jimmy is not giving a homeless 511 00:28:07,320 --> 00:28:10,520 person $10,000 cash without filming it. 512 00:28:10,640 --> 00:28:13,720 One day after he threw his charity tantrum quote, UN quote, 513 00:28:13,720 --> 00:28:18,880 on Twitter, he tweeted a poll. Would you vote for me if I ran 514 00:28:18,880 --> 00:28:21,880 for president? Yes or no? 515 00:28:23,080 --> 00:28:25,960 Jimmy's reaction to the backlash was incredibly telling. 516 00:28:26,440 --> 00:28:30,120 Not only did it solidify that he does have political aspirations, 517 00:28:30,120 --> 00:28:34,080 and therefore his philanthropy is meant to sway public opinion 518 00:28:34,080 --> 00:28:39,400 on him and does extend beyond an individual level, but it also 519 00:28:39,400 --> 00:28:43,720 gave us insight into what actually motivates Mr. Beast. 520 00:28:44,360 --> 00:28:47,600 Jimmy's motivation is one of the most contentious topics online. 521 00:28:48,040 --> 00:28:50,760 That's because he regurgitates the same two talking points. 522 00:28:50,760 --> 00:28:54,720 When asked about why he creates videos and what his end goal is, 523 00:28:55,400 --> 00:28:58,520 he says number one, that all he cares about is helping people, 524 00:28:58,760 --> 00:29:02,280 and #2, that he loses money on every video. 525 00:29:03,320 --> 00:29:06,240 Jimmy has managed to convince his audience, and thus the 526 00:29:06,240 --> 00:29:09,920 greater online community, since his audience is so large that 527 00:29:09,920 --> 00:29:13,880 he's YouTube's Robin Hood. He's this heroic outlaw who 528 00:29:13,880 --> 00:29:16,400 stayed in his hometown instead of moving to LA. 529 00:29:17,000 --> 00:29:20,560 He uses rich corporations that fund his videos to give money to 530 00:29:20,560 --> 00:29:22,960 poor or sick or vulnerable people. 531 00:29:23,360 --> 00:29:27,720 And he wants nothing in return. But when you pay closer 532 00:29:27,720 --> 00:29:30,680 attention to how Jimmy talks about his career in interviews, 533 00:29:30,680 --> 00:29:34,000 documentaries, and even on his own social media, you'll notice 534 00:29:34,000 --> 00:29:38,200 there is one message he pushes even more than helping people 535 00:29:38,960 --> 00:29:42,720 that all he really cares about is making the best videos 536 00:29:42,720 --> 00:29:44,760 possible. But what does that mean? 537 00:29:45,280 --> 00:29:48,720 The best videos possible is such a subjective metric. 538 00:29:48,800 --> 00:29:52,280 Well, to research Mr. Beast is to discover how deep his 539 00:29:52,280 --> 00:29:56,840 hyperfixation on virality is. His goal from the start, back 540 00:29:56,840 --> 00:29:59,400 when he was just thirteen years old and 1st learned that you 541 00:29:59,400 --> 00:30:02,680 could actually make money on YouTube has been to game the 542 00:30:02,680 --> 00:30:04,680 algorithm. And despite some mixed 543 00:30:04,680 --> 00:30:08,800 messaging, Jimmy hasn't been so coy about his motivations. 544 00:30:09,560 --> 00:30:12,680 When asked about his goals on the Colin and Samir podcast, he 545 00:30:12,680 --> 00:30:16,160 said frankly quote, what's the point of making a video if no 546 00:30:16,160 --> 00:30:19,280 one watches it? As mentioned above, he also told 547 00:30:19,280 --> 00:30:22,240 the duo he gives away random money and prizes throughout his 548 00:30:22,240 --> 00:30:25,840 videos, not because he's the most selfless philanthropist, 549 00:30:25,880 --> 00:30:29,880 but as a type of subplot to hold viewer attention and ensure his 550 00:30:29,880 --> 00:30:32,880 retention rate is always above 70%. 551 00:30:33,360 --> 00:30:36,160 On this same podcast and throughout other interviews I 552 00:30:36,160 --> 00:30:40,200 watched, Jimmy openly discusses his first kind of charity porn 553 00:30:40,200 --> 00:30:43,920 video when he gave a homeless man $10,000 as part of a brand 554 00:30:43,920 --> 00:30:47,840 collaboration, a sentence that feels so disturbing to say out 555 00:30:47,840 --> 00:30:49,640 loud. He doesn't speak about that 556 00:30:49,640 --> 00:30:52,320 moment, saying that he was motivated to give back or help 557 00:30:52,320 --> 00:30:54,920 someone out. He speaks about that video in 558 00:30:54,920 --> 00:30:59,000 relation to its success, as in he promised the brand that if 559 00:30:59,000 --> 00:31:03,760 they gave him $10,000 instead of $5000, the video would go viral. 560 00:31:04,640 --> 00:31:08,200 Mr. Beast measures his success based on views, engagement and 561 00:31:08,200 --> 00:31:11,080 virality. His idea of the best video 562 00:31:11,080 --> 00:31:13,840 possible does not include artistic expression, 563 00:31:14,120 --> 00:31:18,240 storytelling or a greater creative purpose, motivations 564 00:31:18,240 --> 00:31:21,200 that are typically the backbone of a creator's vision. 565 00:31:21,400 --> 00:31:24,280 In fact, he did note in a recent interview that he has been 566 00:31:24,280 --> 00:31:27,000 working on his storytelling purely because of audience 567 00:31:27,000 --> 00:31:29,320 feedback. So while Jimmy might not be 568 00:31:29,320 --> 00:31:32,480 personally pocketing all of the money he makes from viral 569 00:31:32,480 --> 00:31:34,880 philanthropy or his challenge videos where he's giving away 570 00:31:34,880 --> 00:31:38,760 money, his content is feeding the Mr. Beast ego. 571 00:31:39,360 --> 00:31:42,560 Because what motivates Mr. Beast at the end of the day is 572 00:31:42,560 --> 00:31:45,760 virality, and he and his team have not tried to hide that from 573 00:31:45,760 --> 00:31:48,280 us. His manager Reid, told producers 574 00:31:48,280 --> 00:31:51,000 for the Curiosity Stream documentary that when they met 575 00:31:51,000 --> 00:31:53,720 Jimmy, Quote was going to do whatever he could to be a 576 00:31:53,720 --> 00:31:57,040 successful digital creator. He didn't say that Jimmy was 577 00:31:57,040 --> 00:31:59,720 going to do whatever he could to be a successful philanthropist 578 00:32:00,000 --> 00:32:02,360 and he didn't say that Jimmy was going to do whatever he could to 579 00:32:02,360 --> 00:32:05,040 build a community of engaged followers that appreciate his 580 00:32:05,040 --> 00:32:07,840 content. As Ryan Broderick wrote for 581 00:32:07,840 --> 00:32:11,440 Garbage Day Quote, being unnaturally viral is all Mr. 582 00:32:11,440 --> 00:32:14,120 Beast really is at this point and it tarnishes everything he 583 00:32:14,120 --> 00:32:16,200 does. And it's most notable with his 584 00:32:16,200 --> 00:32:18,640 charity work. Most likely because at this 585 00:32:18,640 --> 00:32:21,840 point we all know that making purely viral content and chasing 586 00:32:21,840 --> 00:32:26,320 audience agnostic mass appeal as Mr. Beast does requires in some 587 00:32:26,320 --> 00:32:29,840 sense being a complete sociopath with no concept of what it means 588 00:32:29,840 --> 00:32:32,280 to artistically or creatively express something. 589 00:32:32,440 --> 00:32:35,360 Which is why most creators that go viral eventually settle into 590 00:32:35,360 --> 00:32:37,560 a baseline. They find an audience and start 591 00:32:37,560 --> 00:32:39,960 figuring out what their niche is beyond traffic. 592 00:32:40,240 --> 00:32:43,720 But Mr. Beast never did that, because traffic is all he seems 593 00:32:43,720 --> 00:32:46,640 to want or care about. If he truly cared about 594 00:32:46,640 --> 00:32:50,000 philanthropy, for instance, why not just do it and never film 595 00:32:50,000 --> 00:32:51,640 it? Well, that's because 596 00:32:51,640 --> 00:32:54,840 philanthropy is just another type of viral content for him. 597 00:32:55,480 --> 00:32:58,840 And based on how touchy he gets every time he tries and fails to 598 00:32:58,840 --> 00:33:02,160 be taken seriously, he's clearly aware of how limiting this has 599 00:33:02,160 --> 00:33:04,960 become for him. Yes, he dominates YouTube, but 600 00:33:04,960 --> 00:33:07,840 he also can't figure out how to cobble together enough lowest 601 00:33:07,840 --> 00:33:10,320 common denominator content to escape it. 602 00:33:10,760 --> 00:33:15,760 At his core, Mr. Beast is not a creator, Mr. Beast is not a 603 00:33:15,760 --> 00:33:19,880 philanthropist, and Mr. Beast is not objectively the best video 604 00:33:19,880 --> 00:33:23,440 maker in the world. At his core, Mr. Beast is a 605 00:33:23,440 --> 00:33:28,000 marketer who found that gifting people, prizes and large sums of 606 00:33:28,000 --> 00:33:31,800 money on camera will get him the virality and influence he's been 607 00:33:31,800 --> 00:33:34,920 desperately chasing since he was 13 years old. 608 00:33:36,160 --> 00:33:39,280 Infinite Scroll is a podcast written, produced, edited and 609 00:33:39,280 --> 00:33:42,440 presented by me, Lauren Meisner for Centennial World. 610 00:33:42,960 --> 00:33:45,560 Additional research and reporting is by Annabelle Ben 611 00:33:45,560 --> 00:33:48,480 David, Thank you so much for listening. 612 00:33:48,480 --> 00:33:51,800 I love you guys so much and I will talk to you next week.