MrBeast is the biggest name in the world of YouTube. Not only did he revolutionize the modern content creation meta on YouTube, but he also gained worldwide renown that lifted him to a pedestal that very few content creators have ever hoped to gain. Yet, his popularity has been ailed with a dark side too.
In every generation, the top content creator of the platform is always subjected to the copycat culture. Reminiscing about his time on the top, PewDiePie was also susceptible to “wannabes.” But even he agrees that when it comes to MrBeast, the imitation game is on a different level. Among all the MrBeast-like channels, none were as “inspired” as the biggest Russian channel on the website, A4.
The biggest MrBeast ‘Copycat’ on YouTube
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Back in 2021, a massive controversy spread across the internet as Russia’s biggest YouTube channel A4 was discovered to be ripping off thumbnails used by popular YouTuber MrBeast. It was an obvious case of plagiarism. The person behind the channel, Vladislav Bumaga, had also conveniently photoshopped his face onto MrBeast’s. The 22-year-old philanthropist and popular YouTuber, MrBeast, took to Twitter to inform his fans about this baffling discovery.
The largest channel in Russia just takes my thumbnails and photoshop’s his face on mine.. pic.twitter.com/N74GZFdHqT
— MrBeast (@MrBeast) February 19, 2021
Vladislav Bumaga was clearly an impersonator of MrBeast. His content style followed the same formula, with many of his videos being directly ripped off from Beast, such as “surviving on an island” to “the last one to leave a spinning door.” One Twitter user even pointed out the similarities in their merch, which bore an uncanny resemblance to MrBeast’s color palette and aesthetic choices.
Based on the tweets, it seemed that MrBeast was not the only YouTuber whose thumbnails were plagiarized by A4. Beast has a reputation for being one of the warmest internet personalities; the fans advised him to not allow A4 or any other impersonators to get away with it.
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Following the controversy, fans confronted YouTube, questioning why the platform didn’t take any action. However, since A4 was a Russian channel operating under different copyright laws, YouTube could not intervene. But A4 wasn’t the only culprit plagiarizing MrBeast; American YouTuber Airrack was also considered one of them.
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