MrBeast accused of removing Black people from thumbnails to ‘optimize engagement’

MrBeast faces another controversy over the lack of Black people in his thumbnails, allegedly to boost engagement.

MrBeast, the world’s most popular YouTuber and philanthropist, is facing backlash after allegations surfaced regarding his video thumbnails allegedly reducing the presence of Black individuals to optimize engagement.

The controversy began when a user on X, formerly Twitter, @morchel, reposted a video titled "Thumbnail Progression of @MrBeast's Recent Video."

Thumbnail Progression of @MrBeast's Recent Video pic.twitter.com/onwZXwd2LX

— viewstats (@viewstats) April 26, 2024

The video showcased changes in thumbnails on MrBeast’s YouTube channel, and @morchel questioned whether the reduction of Black individuals in these thumbnails was an attempt to appeal to the algorithm, asking, “Does anyone else find it weird that MrBeast reduces the number of Black people in his thumbnails to optimise engagement?”

Does anyone else find it weird that MrBeast reduces with the amount of black people in his thumbnails to optimise engagement? https://t.co/CtC18KTCen pic.twitter.com/lMytaIYkrc

— Morchel (@morchel) September 28, 2024

The post ignited debate, with some dismissing the claim as a non-issue and others raising concerns about racial bias on YouTube. @morchel later clarified that they were not accusing MrBeast of racism but found it unsettling that race, gender, and age seemed to be manipulated in thumbnails to increase engagement. They also speculated that AI tools, like Photoshop's generative fill, might be involved in producing these images.

Just adding to this as an explanation:

- I'm not saying he's racist, unlikely anyone in his team is. It's just soulless to me that they are changing people's gender, ethnicity and age to fuel an algorithm
- They absolutely use AI to generate parts of these images. Likely the… pic.twitter.com/1YsJrFssdI

— Morchel (@morchel) September 29, 2024

This controversy adds to a difficult year for MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson. In July, his former collaborator Ava Kris Tyson faced accusations of inappropriate conversations with minors, followed by allegations of sexual misconduct, which Tyson has denied.

Additionally, contestants from Donaldson's ‘Beast Games’ claimed unsafe working conditions, and a lawsuit was filed by five female contestants accusing his production company of fostering a culture of misogyny and sexism. Moreover, Donaldson faced criticism when old videos containing racially insensitive jokes resurfaced.