this post was submitted on 02 Jan 2025
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[–] [email protected] 150 points 1 month ago (2 children)

The Pentagon also approved funding for content involving YouTube star Jimmy Donaldson, a.k.a. MrBeast, who was slated to lead a humanitarian effort in Puerto Rico.

What a headline, what an article.

[–] affiliate 75 points 1 month ago (34 children)

ah yes, mr beast, the world renowned humanitarian

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[–] Fades 3 points 1 month ago

What the absolute FUCK

[–] [email protected] 88 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Citizens: please give us healthcare or infrastructure or education or help the homeless...

Gov't: m i s t o r b e e s t

[–] [email protected] 33 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Do you want health care? All you need to do is make it through this obstacle course.

[–] Maggoty 19 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

That is kind of the gist of basic training though... And the military has free healthcare...

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Until Republicans decide that not all healthcare is equal.

[–] Maggoty 4 points 1 month ago

Yeah, I fully expect them to enshittify the military so they can hire whatever Black Water is calling themselves these days instead.

[–] [email protected] 43 points 1 month ago (6 children)

Can anyone explain Mr. beast to me, and what his appeal is?

[–] Doorbook 73 points 1 month ago (1 children)

He and his team figured out the YouTube algorithm. He then took the money and spend it back on production. Because there are no guidelines or regulations of YouTube videos production, he is able to use any ethical or non-ethical tactics. His videos is treated like a high budget movie where every second count.

Companies sees his money and everyone want to get piece of the cacke so he is more visible to demographic outside of his target audience.

[–] [email protected] 26 points 1 month ago

He also invests a lot in localisation which makes his videos appealing to non western audiences.

[–] [email protected] 28 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

He's a bucky little fuck with dead eyes and a forced smile who practices philanthropy for clout, but up until recently you couldn't criticize him because of the philanthropy -- even when pointing out that said philanthropy is weird and immoral when it's only being done for fame and self-promotion. Due to this paradox, he had everyone in a sort of stalemate. Fortunately, a lot has since come out about him being a sociopathic piece of human shit, so now we can kick him while he's down.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I gave his AMZ prime show a chance. After the 3rd self-sacrifice round and a bunch of lame games I couldn't continue. Something about his smile reminds me of this but without the rack

[–] RizzRustbolt 5 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Hey now... Ritchie's smile is legitimate.

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[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Beats me. I keep seeing his stupid ass face in search results that are completely unrelated to my search, and the sheer amount of views. I can't even comprehend as to why people watch this ass. At least now it is somewhat known that he's a scumbag. Unsurprisingly & unfortunately it did not seem to have any effect on his popularity.

[–] frunch 14 points 1 month ago (4 children)

That's an interesting thing I've observed--we seem to be past "cancel culture" or it only gets credit when a known scoundrel gets de-platformed. We're in the age of too-big-to-fail celebrities. If they have a large enough base, there's unlikely anything they can do to completely lose them or fall that far into obscurity.

[–] ZapBeebz_ 11 points 1 month ago

Cancel culture only really is a thing when the person on the receiving end is capable of feeling the tiniest shred of embarrassment/remorse for what they've done (not being caught). People fade into obscurity when they get "cancelled" because the massive outcry from the public convinces them they can't ignore that what they're doing is wrong anymore. In the case of most fascist hucksters (as well as Mr Beast), they are incapable of seeing that what they've done is wrong, so they can never be convinced of the need to stop

[–] brucethemoose 10 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

I think it’s more “there’s no such thing as bad attention.”

Any engagement compounds, and at some point, turns into money. It’s not a mystery either, it’s a systemic issue from the way people are fed information now, thanks to the engagement optimization race to the bottom.

Celebrities can certainly fall, but it’s only if they’re boring.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago

I don't believe in "cancel culture" anyway. If I have issues with people, be it for their extremistic political views, or because they're just asocial assholes, then I'm obviously not going to bother watching their content, or buy their products, whatever the case may be. That's been just regular people behavior until the US culture war bullshit made a buzzword out of it when people didn't put up with various MAGA people stuffing their beliefs into everyone's face. Skip forward some years later and we reach the hypocrisy of them doing / advocating to do the same thing regarding left leaning people.

The more concerning matter though is just how many people watch not just people who are assholes behind the camera, but in front of it, like all those "pranksters" and whatnot.

[–] aesthelete 3 points 1 month ago

We’re in the age of too-big-to-fail celebrities.

I think there's a certain category of net denizen that becomes a more devote fan the more it comes out that the person is a scumbag.

Reminds me of when I argue with some members of my family and it seems like they wait for me to have a position just to take the opposite of it to be argumentative and contrarian.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 month ago

Money a lot of money that's the appeal

[–] qaz 15 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (2 children)

Things like surviving in a nuclear bunker, surviving stranded on an island appeals to the imagination of kids. The only difference is that he actually* does it.

*As real as a realityshow, but it's a big difference with the usual clickbait.

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[–] [email protected] 39 points 1 month ago

Finally, my tax dollars going to things I want!

[–] xc2215x 31 points 1 month ago (4 children)
[–] [email protected] 19 points 1 month ago

I suspect the other two don't either

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[–] Ensign_Crab 17 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Flavortown does not need foreign aid.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 month ago

And yet of those listed this is a close to not a bad idea they got.

Flavortown being the least bad is still funny though.

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