- YouTube user MrBeast posted a video about building 100 wells in Africa.
- The content creator has been criticized for charity-themed videos in the past.
- MrBeast took to X, formerly of Twitter, and said he doesn’t care because he wants to help and inspire.
YouTube superstar MrBeast has hit back at critics of his charity videos after posting another viral upload that showed him and his crew building 100 wells in Africa.
The YouTuber, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, is the most followed individual creator on YouTube with over 207 million subscribers on his main channel. to publish His latest video On November 4, entitled “I Built 100 Wells in Africa,” which received more than 50 million views in two days.
“This is the first of 100 wells we’ll be building in this video,” Donaldson said at the start of the upload, as he stood in front of what appeared to be a large, flooded drilling hole, before adding: “This is the first of 100 wells we’ll be building in this video.” A voiceover says that this particular well was built in a village in Kenya.
Throughout the 10-minute upload, Donaldson said the 100 wells he intended to create “will provide about half a million people with fresh drinking water,” and added that he had been greeted by cheering students and a welcome party when he visited local areas.
In the video, Donaldson spoke to a woman who he said was a teacher at the school, and showed the river that students had previously used as a water source. She said they developed diarrhea and typhoid fever, a life-threatening bacterial infection, as a result.
Besides building wells, Donaldson said he also updated a local school with new computers, furniture and books, donated a soccer ball to each student, and replaced old chalkboards with whiteboards and projectors.
The YouTuber then traveled to Zimbabwe where he continued to build more wells, donate bikes to local students, and visited Uganda, Somalia and Cameroon to provide more access to fresh water.
The upload received an overwhelmingly positive response in the YouTube comments section, where Donaldson and his team were praised for their ongoing charitable work, but he appears to be anticipating backlash.
On November 4, the same day he uploaded the video, Donaldson posted on X, formerly Twitter, preemptively Address any other criticisms That would come his way as a result.
“I already know I’m going to be unsubscribed because I uploaded a video that helps people, and to be 100% clear, I don’t care. I will always use my channel to help people and try to inspire my fans to do the same,” he wrote.
The post received 27.3 million views and 11,000 comments, which praised the YouTuber for his charitable work and encouraged him to ignore critics and continue posting similar videos. Insider couldn’t find any posts from people calling for a “cancellation” over the video.
However, in the past, the creator has been criticized for making less fortunate people the focus of his viral videos.
In January, he racked up more than a quarter of a billion views from just two videos on his main channel, where he paid for eye surgery for 1,000 people with cataracts and bought hearing aids for 1,000 deaf people. While many of his viewers celebrated the videos and what Donaldson helped achieve, some felt uncomfortable with the concept of featuring people with disabilities in content and accused the YouTuber of using them online. influenceas previously reported by Insider.
At the time, Donaldson addressed the criticism in Share on X.
“Twitter – Rich people should help others with their money. Me – Well, I will use my money to help people and I promise to donate all my money before I die. Every penny. Twitter – Mr. Best sucks,” he wrote. .
Donaldson made a name for himself on YouTube with his elaborate, high-budget videos, regularly gave away large cash prizes, and launched dozens of humanitarian aid projects on his second YouTube channel. Charity monster.
Representatives for Jimmy Donaldson did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.
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