The divisive philanthropy of MrBeast

By Poch Eulalia

Whether it’s letting 1,000 people regain their hearing or recreating Netflix’s Squid Game, Jimmy Donaldson has made quite a name for himself through his YouTube channel, MrBeast.

For those not in the know, as of writing, Donaldson is currently the most-subscribed independent YouTuber with over 156 million subscribers. His videos have amassed a total of 26 billion views, with each new video easily hitting over 100 million views.

Donaldson has often been referred to as “YouTube’s biggest philanthropic,” with plenty of his videos showcasing him giving out large amounts of cash.

Through money made via sponsorship deals, Donaldson’s videos showcase him giving it all away to homeless people, ride-share app drivers, small-time content creators, and many others in need. He has also hosted international fundraisers, such as Team Trees and Team Seas, where he called on his viewers and other content creators to raise money for planting trees and cleaning up trash in the ocean. In 2020, he started the Beast Philanthropy charity organization with the goal of using social media platforms for raising funds to alleviate hunger, homelessness, and unemployment.

Despite all his charitable actions and good deeds, Donaldson has not been free from criticism over his content.

Earlier this year, an uproar took place on Twitter with some people criticizing MrBeast’s video, where he helped 1,000 blind people see for the first time. The same comments came in March after he posted a video about donating 20,000 shoes to kids in Africa. Some users shared discomfort toward Donaldson for using “poverty porn,” an act that involves showing the conditions of the poor in an arguably exploitative manner to elicit sympathy from viewers to support the given cause. Others questioned the morality of doing charitable acts and recording them, with a few even accusing Donaldson of profiting off the disabled through the ad revenue provided by the video.

In a tweet, Donaldson disclosed that neither he nor his Beast Philanthropy channel actually profit from such videos. “One hundred of all revenue from Beast Philanthropy goes toward running my food banks and helping ease human suffering, and since inception, I’ve personally put in millions into Beast Philanthropy.”

Whatever one may feel about Donaldson’s philanthropy, one thing is clear, charity is still charity.

At the end of the day, Donaldson has still helped a good number of people through his videos and has no plans of stopping. Perhaps what bothers people isn’t the fact that Donaldson is helping those in need, but rather the grand scheme of things that allowed poverty to exist in the first place. If there are people in the world that can live lavishly and enjoy an abundance of luxury, shouldn’t there be enough wealth to eliminate core problems such as hunger, homelessness, and unemployment?