I recently watched this video (about prank videos) by h3h3 productions. In this video, he comments on a 'social experiment' by two Youtubers called MoeandET who, in this video, convince a woman that she is going to be assaulted by a group of men in balaclavas so that they can 'teach people' about the dangers of meeting someone from Craigslist. This is a recent trend by Youtube pranksters to do increasingly awful things to people by putting it in the guise of a 'social experiment' that is apparently supposed to exist for the purpose of educating people. By pointing a camera phone at someone and claiming "it's just a prank bro" or "this was a social experiment" they justify to themselves and their fan base that worrying levels of harassment are completely fine. Lots of the pranks are staged but many aren't.
Examples of things that Youtubers have considered it okay to do because "it's just a prank bro" include: this video where Sam Pepper gropes the bums of random women. This video in which Joseph Costello mocks a homeless woman and this video where Roman Atwood 'tricks' black people into thinking he has said a hugely offensive word. I should point out that many white 'pranksters' specifically target black people in their videos, I guess having a camera also excuses them of racism.
The only thing I hope to see from prank videos in the future is when karma prevails and these people get a little taste of their own medicine, isn't that right Jack Jones?
