MrBeast fires back a furious response after a claim that the 100 wells he built in Africa are 'no longer operational.'
Jimmy 'MrBeast' Donaldson has built his YouTube fame by taking on wild challenges with huge cash prizes on the line.
From recreating Squid Game with real contestants to giving away $500,000 to whoever could stay in a circle the longest, his videos consistently break the internet with their scale and generosity.
But beyond the viral challenges and massive cash giveaways, MrBeast has also used his social media platforms to support humanitarian causes. Videos like "I Helped 2,000 People Walk Again" and campaigns to feed people in need have shown a different side to the content creator.
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One of his most ambitious charitable projects was undertaken in 2023, when the 27-year-old provided access to clean water for thousands of Africans. MrBeast and his team built 100 wells to provide clean drinking water for up to 500,000 people in Cameroon, Kenya, Somalia, Uganda and Zimbabwe, Donaldson described at the time.
The 10-minute video also showed MrBeast donating school supplies, including desks, soccer balls, computers, and projectors, to Kenyan schools. His team built a bridge across a river to safely connect a village with local schools and hospitals and presented bicycles to children in Zimbabwe to help them get to school.
However, not everyone was thrilled with MrBeast's well-building campaign when it was announced.
The backlash wasn't necessarily about the wells but about the broader implications of how Western influencers approach African aid.
A Kenyan politician told CNN that MrBeast's campaign reinforced harmful stereotypes, feeding the perception that African countries are 'dependent on handouts.' Meanwhile, prominent Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi used MrBeast's actions to criticise his own government, saying the project showed Kenya was 'a shameful, horrible country[...] a begging nation governed by millionaires.'
Now, over on X, Donaldson is facing new accusations after a news platform claimed that the wells 'have not been maintained and are no longer operating.'
The allegation stuck a nerve with Donaldson who felt unfairly attacked in an attempt for the platform to gain 'clout.'
"When pages spread straight up lies like this with 0 proof (the wells are still operational) should I sue them?" he wrote on X. "I’m so over people tearing down my name for some clout. It’s so f***en [sic] annoying".
The source of the allegations appears to be questionable at best. According to the information on X: "CPAT News is a brand new social media account not tied to any known news organization. The video cites zero verifiable sources to back its claim."
While the specific claims about MrBeast's wells may be unfounded, water infrastructure experts have warned about the issues with well-building projects across Africa. Saran Kaba Jones, founder and CEO of FACE Africa, an organisation working to improve water infrastructure and sanitation in sub-Saharan Africa, issued a prescient warning about the 'sustainability' of the project.
“The issue is sustainability. It’s one thing to go in and install the well, it’s another thing for us to go back to three, four, or five years from now, and see if that well is still functional,” she said.
