MrBeast Becomes Most Subscribed YouTube Channel

MrBeast Becomes Most Subscribed YouTube Channel
Image copyright: Monica Schipper/Staff/Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images

The Facts

  • YouTuber MrBeast, real name Jimmy Donaldson, has dethroned India's T-Series as the most subscribed-to channel on the platform.

  • This comes as the MrBeast account reached more than 266.7M subscribers over the weekend, surpassing 270M subscriptions on Monday. T-Series previously sat at the top spot with 266M subscribers.

  • The 26-year-old was already the most subscribed-to individual account on YouTube, and became the highest-paid YouTuber in 2022. He has nearly 100M followers on TikTok.

The Spin

Narrative A

It's great news that MrBeast is now YouTube's no. 1 channel, particularly because it offers a role model for everyone from Gen Z to Boomers at a time when civility has become rare. As he promotes philanthropy and consensus, his online presence teaches the world valuable lessons to inspire the next generation.

Narrative B

Though MrBeast, or Jimmy Donaldson, is a brilliant content creator who seems to be a nice guy acting in good faith to help people, his philanthropy-as-entertainment approach may cause more harm than good. There are risks that younger people will understand charity as a business model, unable to differentiate it from content creation.

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