Published: Wed Jul 05 2023

Jimmy Donaldson, better known as MrBeast, has become a sensation on YouTube for ostentatious and sometimes absurd acts of altruism. Today, Max Read, a journalist and contributor to The Times, discusses what the rise of one of YouTube’s most popular star tells us about the platform and its users. Max Read is a contributor to The New York Times Magazine and writes about technology and internet culture in his newsletter “Read Max.”