Opinion: Why YouTubers engaging in international development is dangerous

On Nov. 4, YouTuber Jimmy Donaldson, better known as MrBeast, and his team entered as a major player in the international development space with their release of a 10-minute video about their newest philanthropic escapade: Building 100 water wells in villages across Africa.

With over 80.5 million views and 6.7 million “likes” applauding his “philanthropic” efforts, for international development professionals, this was an alarming thing to read. A 25-year-old with a lot of money, no international development experience, and an incentive to monetize the development process in Africa is a scary idea.

The particularly alarming fact is that his audience will see this behavior and may exalt it as something to aspire to, rather than think about the critical implications of playing god, impeding the role of government, and attempting to strengthen the well-being of communities for his reputational benefit.