Apparently hacked billboards show anti-Israel messages sponsored by MrBeast

The billboards, spotted outside Chicago last night, are the subject of an ongoing investigation

By Drew Gillis  |  October 17, 2024 | 11:53am
Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images
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Apparently hacked billboards show anti-Israel messages sponsored by MrBeast

Last night, a few billboards were spotted on the North Shore of Chicago bearing the message: “Fuck Israel. Paid For By MrBeast LLC”. Local news station Fox 32 Chicago reports that the billboards were visible for about 90 minutes during the rush hour commute, from about 5:30 pm until 7. There were a couple of variations on the billboards; one read “Death To Israel,” and one read “Fuck Israel” and featured MrBeast making one of the dumb faces we’ve come to anticipate when one of his YouTube thumbnails crosses our path. All of the versions captured by passers-by seemed to place the message above a Palestinian flag background. 

A spokesperson for MrBeast quickly told Fox 32 that he had nothing to do with the billboards, which, duh. The YouTuber born as James Donaldson has stated on record that he doesn’t really like to offer his opinion on anything, because it might alienate a portion of his audience; he said back in 2021 that “personality” could be a hindrance to growing his business, as Polygon noted earlier this year. Weighing in on Israel in any direction seems to be about the last thing Donaldson would do. In a statement to The A.V. Club, an unnamed spokesperson for Donaldson said: “MrBeast did not pay for this billboard and after being made aware of its existence, we contacted our attorneys and the authorities about how to have it immediately removed.”

As expected, Outfront Media, the company that owns the billboards, posted on Twitter/X that the messages were “unapproved,” indicating that the messages were the work of hackers. “We take this matter very seriously,” the company wrote in the post. “The situation is being investigated and we are notifying all appropriate local and national authorities.”

This story has been updated with a statement from MrBeast’s team.

 
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