MrBeast’s ‘charity porn’ shows the morally complicated reality of YouTube philanthropy

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MrBeast's 'charity porn' shows the morally complicated reality of YouTube philanthropy


In our perpetually polarized world, even curing the blind can spark a days-long internet fracas. With 130 million subscribers, YouTuber Jimmy “MrBeast” Donaldson has perfected the art of going viral in a way almost no-one else has done. Three days ago he did it again, but this time the reaction hasn’t been quite what MrBeast was expecting.

MrBeast’s latest piece, “1,000 Blind People See For The First Time”, compresses an act that ancient people would’ve seen as a miracle into eight minutes of video laser-targeted at YouTube’s algorithm. We see some of the recipients before and after receiving cataract surgery or other procedures that help restore sight. Per the provider SEE International, these are either phacoemulsification operations (ultrasound removal) or MSICS, a manual technique “better suited to the advanced, blinding cataracts we often see in the poorer parts of the world.”





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