Diary #09
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THE MRBEAST VIDEO
THE MRBEAST VIDEO
SCHOOLS
A video moving between YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and WhatsApp: the journey of a piece of content through platforms and relationships.
THE STORY
THE STORY
A student recounts encountering a video by MrBeast, a creator known for his challenges, on YouTube. The platform had suggested it to him: he was not searching for it.
According to his description, the video had reached an enormous number of views in just a few days. Short clips, approximately two minutes long, showed aspects of the creator's generosity and also circulated on TikTok and Instagram.
The same content also reaches him through a friend: "I saw these videos on TikTok, Instagram and a friend of mine sent it to me on WhatsApp."
The boy is struck by the video's popularity and the hashtags used to promote it. He interprets the purpose of the content mainly as a way to attract attention and gives it an initial credibility score of 5 out of 5.
After watching it, he reacts to it, without feeling any particular emotions and without changing his mind about anything. He thinks that similar content can influence behaviour "Quite a lot", while for opinions he answers "It depends".
Reflecting on social media suggestions, he argues that the choice remains with people: "We always choose because algorithms suggest videos to us based on what we search for."
In the same questionnaire, however, he acknowledges that he often encounters content he has not searched for in his feed. He says he does not like advertising and believes that adults sometimes give children too much freedom on social media. His advice to his peers is to "live more of life without social media".
«Questi video li ho visto su Tik Tok, Instagram e un mio amico me lo ha mandato su WhatsApp»
BEYOND THE STORY
— The journey of information across platforms
BEYOND THE STORY
— The journey of information across platforms
The testimony about the MrBeast video invites us to observe a phenomenon characteristic of the contemporary information ecosystem: a piece of content can travel across different digital environments, be presented again in new formats and reach the same person through different routes.
A video published on YouTube can be clipped, commented on, shared and reposted on TikTok, Instagram or through a private chat.
Each step can change the context in which the content is encountered.
On YouTube, we might find the original video in its full length. On another platform, we might see only a short excerpt. On WhatsApp, we might receive it accompanied by a message from a friend.
The content may be similar, but the information experience changes.
Does popularity make content more credible?
Does popularity make content more credible?
The student attaches great importance to the number of views and the hashtags used to promote the video. These are elements that help make the popularity of a piece of content recognisable.
But visibility, popularity and reliability are not the same thing.
A video can reach millions of people without this automatically demonstrating the truthfulness of the information it contains.
At the same time, highly popular content is not necessarily false or manipulative.
In the case described, we do not have the elements needed to assess the reliability of specific claims made in the video. Instead, we are interested in observing how the student interpreted its circulation and which signals he used to attribute credibility to it.
Personal choice and the role of recommendations
Personal choice and the role of recommendations
A second element concerns the relationship between individual intention and platform suggestions.
The boy argues that we are always the ones who choose, because algorithms propose content related to what we search for. His experience, however, invites us to explore this relationship further.
We can decide whether to open a video, keep watching it, react to it or share it. But we do not always directly choose which content is proposed to us.
Recommendation systems can use different signals, including searches, interactions and browsing behaviour, to select what we see.
This does not mean that they automatically determine our decisions. It means recognising that people's choices and technological mediation coexist within the same information experience.
From attention to sharing
From attention to sharing
Finally, the story shows how content can spread through different mechanisms.
On the one hand, there are platforms and systems that select and recommend videos. On the other, there are people who decide to send them to their friends. The boy encountered the content through both routes.
This is an important dynamic for The Disinformation Diaries: understanding the world of information means observing not only what is published, but also how content becomes visible, is reinterpreted and circulates through our relationships.
The account is not about fake news, but it contributes to exploring the environments and mechanisms through which information of all kinds can spread.
A QUESTION FOR YOU
A QUESTION FOR YOU
When a video reaches us both through platform recommendations and from a friend, what most influences our decision to watch it?
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