Has MrBeast gone too far? The YouTuber insists his latest death-defying video was tested for safety. But some experts think his whole business model is killing our humanity.
YouTuber under fire over death trap video
Master of clicks: MrBeast has become an entertainment megastar by studying the titles and images that convince viewers to click on his videos. Comprehension quiz
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The word “intuitive” in the text means:
A: Based on careful and detailed planning.
B: Based on what other successful people have done.
C: Based on instinct or feeling without conscious reasoning.
D: Based on using the most expensive equipment.
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Which word is the closest synonym for “demeaning”?
A: Amusing
B: Difficult
C: Humiliating
D: Exhausting
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According to the article, why do some experts condemn MrBeast’s stunts?
A: Because they are not exciting enough to go viral.
B: Because they are too expensive for others to copy.
C: Because they believe he puts stunt professionals in real danger.
D: Because they fear fans might try to copy them without taking proper safety precautions.
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What does the article suggest could be the evolutionary “trade-off” for humans being able to shift focus quickly?
A: Growing resistance to malaria.
B: Lower blood pressure and cholesterol.
C: The ability to digest milk.
D: Shorter attention spans.
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According to the article, identify two specific allegations made against the ‘Beast Games’ series regarding contestant welfare.
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In your own words, summarise the two opposing views of MrBeast presented in the article.
Answers
Tap to reveal
1. C 2. C 3. D 4. D 5. The article states that participants were allegedly underfed and isolated from the world. It also claims some suffered physical injury and sexual harassment. (Any two of these are acceptable). 6. One view is that MrBeast is a hugely successful and imaginative content creator who understands how to go viral and reinvests his money to make his videos bigger and better. The opposing view is that his success is built on exploiting vulnerable and desperate people, making them perform humiliating tasks and neglecting their safety for entertainment.
1. C 2. C 3. D 4. D 5. The article states that participants were allegedly underfed and isolated from the world. It also claims some suffered physical injury and sexual harassment. (Any two of these are acceptable). 6. One view is that MrBeast is a hugely successful and imaginative content creator who understands how to go viral and reinvests his money to make his videos bigger and better. The opposing view is that his success is built on exploiting vulnerable and desperate people, making them perform humiliating tasks and neglecting their safety for entertainment.
Glossary
Evolution - A process of gradual change that takes place over many generations, during which species of animals, plants, or insects slowly change some of their physical characteristics.
Malaria - A serious parasite infection transmitted by mosquito bites. It is one of the world’s most lethal diseases.
Blood pressure - The beating of our hearts keeps our blood at a certain pressure. This pressure can rise when we are stressed, as the heart beats faster.
Cholesterol - A type of blood fat produced by the liver.
Selective pressure - Factors in nature that will make a proportion of the population less or more successful at reproducing, driving natural selection.
Attention economy - The idea that human attention is a scarce commodity, and that attention is the limiting factor in a person's ability to consume information.
Let's Plays - Online videos in which a person documents themselves playing a video game.
Algorithm - Any set of rules followed by a computer. In the context of social media, “the algorithm” refers to the intelligent AI that learns the interests of the user and presents them with posts that it thinks will interest them.