- YouTubers Lucas Dobre, and Marcus Dobre posted a clip in which Marcus pretends to commit suicide. “prank.”
- The joke was criticized by viewers and the suicide prevention charity. “dangerous.”
- They have more than 24 million subscribers and share comedic videos together.
Marcus Dobre and Lucas Dobre, twins, were criticised over their latest YouTube clip. In it Marcus fakes his suicide in an attempt to gain sympathy. “prank.”
The VideoThe following article was published on January 10. “MY TWIN BROTHER IS DEAD?!”It has been viewed more than 2.5 million times.
It shows Lucas reading a note written by his twin brother. “Put this on YouTube,”It begins. “To my family, Lucas, mom, dad, Cyrus, Darius, and everyone else I just wanna say I love you guys. I just wanted to write you this letter before I go. I’m gonna miss you so much but now I’m gone forever.”
Lucas continues to read the note and seems increasingly confused. “Please don’t give up on our fans they really love us and we keep them happy. I left you something in the backyard to remember me. From Marcus, I will see you in the sky.”
Before the twins’ older siblings and influencers, Lucas searches the house for Marcus before calling his number. Cyrus Dariusask why Lucas isn’t? “freaking out.”
After the brothers find tombstone in their backyard, Marcus asks them what Marcus means by it. The filming ends and Marcus speaks directly to the camera.
“I’m not dead, I just wanted to prank my family. I’m so sorry guys,”He said. “I flew out to LA just to pull off this prank. I can’t believe I did it.”
Many comments have been left under the video, criticizing YouTubers’ jokes about suicide.
“As someone who has actually been through this, this is actually just the worst. Losing my brother was the worst thing I’ve ever gone through,”The top comment reads.
Insider was informed by a representative from the suicide prevention charity. SAVE said, “We lose someone to suicide every 40 seconds, which means this is nothing to joke about, minimize, or attempt to make funny.”
They said that jokes about suicide could lead to “harm or death,”Cause “major trauma”For those on the receiving side.
SAVE also stated that such pranks could lead to unnecessary emergency service calls, which can be costly for the community.
“We need to send a clear message to everyone that videos or actions such as these pranks are not appropriate and potentially very dangerous,”They added. “Social media platforms need to continue to work to help save lives from suicide through existing best practices for social media and prevent prank videos from negatively influencing users.”
YouTube’s community guidelines state, “We do not allow content on YouTube that promotes suicide, self-harm, that is intended to shock or disgust, or poses a considerable risk to viewers.”There is no definitive guidance. “pranks”These are the kinds of things that Google, who owns YouTube, has not responded to Insider’s request.
The brothers have not addressed backlash and didn’t respond to Insider’s request for comment.
The four Dobre brothers posted on their blog. Joint YouTube channelTheir comedic videos, which often feature their mother, a retired Olympic gymnast, have gained them a huge following for more than 10 million over five years. Aurelia Dobre. Marcus and Lucas Separate channelOver 24 million subscribers.
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