YouTubers are creating memorial videos for people they’ve never met
Earlier this year, a very dear friend of mine — and a talented 47-year-old cancer doctor and researcher — fell to the ground after delivering a presentation to hundreds of colleagues. All those doctors were in the room, and he passed away. So heartbreaking.
When I heard what happened, I looked online for information about his memorial service. I found what his family posted and made a donation in his name — but I found something else, too.
It was a video on YouTube of a guy in his mid-20s in India reading his obituary. Wait, what? Turns out this wasn’t a one-off but a new business model.
Wait, what?
You can’t make this stuff up. Anonymous YouTube creators are publishing videos about someone who died just for likes, follows and, in some cases, cash.
Take 25-year-old Tanner Kinslow. He passed away from an overdose. Within 72 hours of making a GoFundMe page, the family found almost a dozen YouTube videos across 10 channels — all about Tanner. His parents didn’t know the people putting up the videos.
The Kinslows aren’t the only family dealing with these bizarre, emotionally draining YouTube videos. It’s a disturbing trend.
Follow the money
The Kinslow family was tipped off by a friend about the videos. Tanner’s father, Donovan, told ABC 70 that none of the videos contained fake donation links, as they suspected. The only goal was to get viewers to like, comment and subscribe.
YouTube channels like these are full of countless similar videos about other people. The accounts typically feature creators outside the U.S.; many videos aren’t even in English. I saw a bunch, likely from India and Pakistan.
The average monthly incomes in India and Pakistan are $387 and $287, respectively. Making a few hundred dollars in YouTube revenues is big bucks in these countries.
Several channels have strange, tech-related names, like “Technical Golo” and “tech with munawar.” Why? Those are highly-searched terms.
Although they’re not trying to fleece people out of money, these memorial video creators are still profiting off the backs of grieving families.
Goes beyond YT videos
It’s not hard for scammers and clout chasers to grab death information from the internet. The Kinslow family didn’t have to deal with financial scams, but others aren’t so lucky. Last year, a Chicago-area family lost their 16-year-old son to suicide. Just days later, someone set up a fake GoFundMe page using information right from his obituary.
Before the page came down, thousands of dollars had been donated. It gets worse. A woman showed up at the teen’s funeral, posing as someone who knew the family. She collected money from those at the service and snuck off before anyone caught her. Absolutely disgusting.
- Before you donate to a GoFundMe page, check with someone close to the family to verify it’s the right one.
- If you make a memorial post, consider who’s reading it and what information you’re supplying. In general, it’s best to share posts like these with friends only.
- See a video like this on YouTube? Report it.
If there’s a way to exploit people, even if just for internet clout, lowlifes will find it. And YouTube, a company that makes $30,000,000,000 a year in revenue, says it can’t stop it. Oh, come on.
Tags: GoFundMe, grieving families, internet, scammers, scams, YouTube
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