It seems that every time dead-eyed YouTube lich Mr. Beast makes the news nowadays, it's because someone is mad at him. In typical Mr. Beast fashion, however, this time he's going bigger by making everyone mad at him.
The thumbnail image is a crucial part of the YouTube experience, often being the first thing a prospective viewer sees. That first impression is absolutely essential for enticing views, which is something the Beast himself understands — he's previously boasted about spending somewhere in the ballpark of ten thousand dollars for each of his thumbnails to craft the most perfectly engaging image possible, which really begs the question of why he's now trying to make them shittier for everyone else.
Viewstats, a YouTube metrics tracker helmed by Mr. Beast, has announced an AI-powered thumbnail generation tool that allows users to directly feed YouTubers' thumbnails into it without their consent to create something ripping off- sorry, inspired by any creator they want. Mr. Beast plagiarizes himself in the initial demo to avoid any snags, but with the ability to rip off entire channels in one fell swoop or even specific videos, the writing is pretty clearly on the wall. It's as easy as entering a URL and grabbing any thumbnail you like to bastardize for yourself.
Unsurprisingly, the tool has already drawn controversy, not just from people who disapprove of the wave of AI-generated content taking over YouTube, but also from fellow creators who have been targeted by the tool. JackSepticEye, a YouTube institution whose logo was used to promote the tool without permission, was among the first to speak out, with others rallying to his side in the replies and issuing statements of their own.
Mr. Beast is the biggest creator on YouTube and one of the most powerful people on the Internet, bar none. He's made hundreds of millions of dollars and garnered an audience of nearly half a billion subscribers, all of which he can leverage to drown any possible backlash to this incredibly scummy move. The best thing you can do is not use it, but this is just the latest step in the Beast's apparent quest to make all online content as empty and tasteless as his burgers.
