With the potential to earn millions of dollars, YouTube video creators are making prank videos daily, but another famous YouTuber, Philip DeFranco, recently accused a couple of these YouTube channels of creating fake prank videos.
According to SuperFame, DeFranco recently revealed three of those YouTube video pranksters who he categorizes as being frauds on The Philip DeFranco Show. The first, Adrian Gee, had previously been exposed for hiring actors for his videos, but DeFranco had two more to add to the list: Yousef Erakat of FouseyTube and Roman Atwood.
DeFranco posted a video called YouTube Prankster Exposed as Fraud. It was taken down from his site, citing copyright infringement. DeFranco claimed the video was his original creation, and that the takedown request was made in retaliation for his accusations.
There was outrage on social media such as Twitter about his prank video exposure takedown and the content of the prank videos.
I want to thank all of you who had my back after Thursdays video was taken down by an obvious abuse of the copyright system.
— Philip DeFranco (@PhillyD) November 23, 2015
Reading the newest story of PEOPLE OUTRAGED AT BLAH BLAH BLAH.
Most of these cry bullies need to shut their stupid faces.
— Philip DeFranco (@PhillyD) November 23, 2015
An edit of DeFranco’s video has since been re-uploaded to his YouTube channel.
At least one of these pranksters responded to DeFranco’s remarks.
“The only reason I do not talk about people I don’t like…or don’t reply to people when they fire shots…is because I don’t want to give them any relevance, because they are desperate,” Erakat fired back.
The content of these prank videos such as Atwood’s Blow Up My Kid video and Erakat’s Yoga Pants Prank can be somewhat insensitive and homophobic, but their sites have millions of subscribers as fans still love their pranks.
The big issue is not the content of their videos in terms of taste, but it is whether or not their pranks are real and believable. Some of the alleged actors in their videos have come forward saying they took part in staged pranks.
But does it matter if they are fake or real? According to New Media Rockstars, the earning potential of YouTubers actually ranges from $1 million to $30.4 million each year. With incomes like these, DeFranco and other news media think fans might want to know about the reality of what they are getting.
While the accusations have had little impact on FouseyTube and Roman Atwood’s success, Gee’s most recently posted prank video with just over 100,000 views has nearly twice as many dislikes as likes; an illustration of the importance to viewers that the content isn’t staged.
With this information, will viewers still enjoy the content of the videos? Now, the credibility and the reputation of these pranksters who earn millions from subscribers are in question.
