Introductory note
I got the inspiration to write this blog post after reading Joel’s post where he discussed whether digital activism looks good or actually does good, by examining Davies’ article on MrBeast’s philanthropy (Huggins, 2024). I found this approach on activism very interesting, and I subsequently thought that I could write something starting from the same beginning but applying it to a contemporary situation in my country Greece. So, I decided to talk about the impact MrBeast’s “philanthropy” has on content creators in Greece, as well as how the approach MrBeast has, can be compared with the perspective of philanthropy some politicians seem to exhibit. In other words, how political activity tends to follow a pattern similar to MrBeast’s.
MrBeasts’s influence on modern Greek youtube
As we can see in in Davies’ article about MrBeast, he is probably the most famous YouTube and social media figure who has managed to normalize activities related to philanthropy, but with a twist. MrBeast has built upon the stun philanthropy expressed by trends such as the ice bucket challenge (Lea, 2023) and has taken it to a whole different level, as he has turned it into a worth watching event itself. Millions of people watch him offering money and making videos of it, turning philanthropy and offering to those in need, into a show.
In a similar manner to MrBeast and clearly affected by him, there are numerous domestic youtubers, influencers, and social media content creators, who follow the same principles when it comes to their social media and YouTube career. A very prominent figure of the Greek social media influencer community, Alexandros Kopsialis, acts in the same way as MrBeast, making giveaways of huge value such as expensive cars, and offering money to strangers on the streets (THETOC Team, 2024). He has also published a video where he arrests an alleged rapist, and he records the whole procedure (THETOC Team, 2024).
Aleksandros Kopsialis’ activities on social media and YouTube have attracted a huge audience making him one of the most popular influencers in Greece, his Instagram page having more than one million followers, in a country whose population is around eleven million. In other words, almost one out of ten citizens in Greece follow Kopsialis, the majority of whom belong to the younger demographic.
Likewise MrBeast, Aleksandros Kopsialis enjoys fame, a lot of money and collaborations with many popular figures and Greek celebrities. He even participated in a collaborative giveaway for a house as a prize, with the basketball player Giannis Antetokounmpo, till he was ousted from it because of his connections with an alleged rapist.
Other Greek influencers receive similar fame and wealth to Aleksandros Kopsialis, this fame often deriving from their engagement with giving away money and presents of value. However, the criticism remains as to whether they are genuinely philanthropists, and they are really interested in helping people in need. Their philanthropy reflects that of MrBeast’s which is a fancy one, broadcasted, and “highly visible, as it only through garnering views and likes that his model works” (Davies, 2024, p. 3). So, here comes the question of what kind of philanthropy is that which ensures fame and wealth for those who do it?
Politicians in the role of influencers
In recent times the patterns followed by influencers and social media figures are observed in several cases of politicians in Greece. In an effort to advertise themselves they make extensive use of social media platforms taking the place of influencers. Even the prime minister Kiriakos Mitsotakis owns a Tik-Tok account where he sends video messages from, trying to look more appealing to younger voters.
Another striking example of a politician who made extensive use of the tools influencers and youtubers use, is the former leader of Greece’s opposition party, Stefanos Kasselakis. Coming out of nowhere (U.S.A to be more specific), with no political background whatsoever, he managed to broadcast a profile of a fresh face with modern ideas and finally win the internal elections of his political party (Gkritsi, 2023). His extensive use of social media throughout his campaigns and his presence as a political figure resembled that of a full-time social media influencer, exposing parts of his personal life and publicizing several of those in social media.
Apart from the use of social media, Kasselakis, as well as other politicians engage in another form of interacting with people very similar to the one mentioned for MrBeast. It is the form of offering objects to people in the pretext of catering to their needs through donations. An example of this, is when Kasselakis visited a school and subsequently donated air conditioning units to be installed in the classrooms. However, even if the intention looks good in the first place, the critique is the same as the one against MrBeast, that they focus on relieving directly those in need, instead of figuring out the underlying reasons for their suffering (Davies, 2024), and hence working on how to eliminate those reasons. And if in the case of MrBeast this way of dealing with people’s problems can up to a point be justified, when the subject is a political figure, then they should be more insightful on how they can help society substantially, and not just superficially. If, of course helping substantially is what is the desired outcome and it doesn’t all happen for the sake of the views.
Adonis Georgiadis, the Minister of Health of Greece, starred in another incident some days ago. As he, too, uses social media a lot, he used X and proposed to a mother whose son couldn’t find an open slot for surgery, to personally arrange one for him. This, as caring and amicable action as it may seem, embodies the realization from the part of Greece’s political world, that they can work as a connection to speed up things in the public sector for the citizens who need it. However, this understanding is quite problematic, as it indirectly uses the gratitude a person in need has to their ‘savior’ and thus feeds uneven power dynamics (Davies, 2024) for the sake and the best interest of the help provider, who will make use of them when the need arises, aka elections.
How is everything mentioned connected to Palestine
There is not a straightforward connection, however if one connects the dots, then a lot can be said about the way Greek (or most) politicians work. In other words, similar to influencers who use philanthropy a lot as a means of self-promotion to their targeted audience (Davies, 2024) and earning more and more money, politicians use promises and personal favors to their own targeted audience to gain popularity, and support. As a result, even though Greek opposition parties have been quite vocal in the parliament, asking for Palestine’s recognition as a state by the government, I seriously doubt their true intentions and what they would do if they were in charge. Words only do no good, and in the digital age people are more gullible than ever. At the same time the political system has never bothered to offer long-term, viable solutions to the internal problems plaguing the country, as parties keep placating their respective audiences. Therefore, I cannot but stay critical and distant to politicians’ voices of philanthropy for Palestine, because deep down I feel that they are all just good content.
References
Davies, Rhodri. (2024). Good intent, or just good content? Assessing MrBeast ‘s philanthropy. Journal of Philanthropy and Marketing. 29(2). e1858.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/politics/foreign-policy/1239487/greek-opposition-parties-push-government-to-recognize-palestine/
Adonis Georgiadis: The conversation on X with a patient’s mother about available surgeries
Gkritsi, E. (2023, October, 29). Greece’s New Political Star Is a TikTok Creation. Wired. https://www.wired.com/story/stefanos-kasselakis-greece-politics-tiktok/
Huggins, J. (2024, December, 3). Digital activism: Doing good or looking good?. Exploring Digital Activism Through the Lens of the Pro-Palestinian Movement in Europe. https://wpmu.mau.se/msm24group3/2024/12/03/digital-activism-doing-good-or-looking-good/
Lea, M. (2023). After the ALS ice bucket challenge and the rise of MrBeast, stunt philanthropy might be here to stay. The Conversation. May 30.
THETOC Team. (2024, January, 30). Αλέξανδρος Κοψιάλης: Ποιος είναι ο influencer με τους 1,1 εκατ. followers που παγίδευσε 43χρονο παιδεραστή. THETOC. https://www.thetoc.gr/koinwnia/article/alexandros-kopsialis-poios-einai-o-influencer-me-tous-11-ekat-followers-pou-pagideuse-43xrono-paiderasti/
