Mexico requests compensation from the producers of an MRBEAST video and accused the United States Youtuber of having exploited its old pyramids for commercial purposes.
The video “I explored the ancient temples of 2000 years” shows the influencer, the real name Jimmy Donaldson, 27, and his team exploring the old Maya cities, with a permit.
But in a part of the video produced by Full Circle Media, which received more than 60 million views in a week, MRBEAST announces a chocolate product like a “Maya dessert” and urges viewers to buy it.
The authorities said that even if they had granted permission to film on the sites, they had not authorized for profit. A representative MRBEAST denied some of the accusations.
The spokesperson told the BBC: “No advertising equipment has been filmed on supervised archaeological sites by INAH (National Institute of Anthropology and History).”
In the video, the scene promoting the chocolate snack seems to be filmed on the influencer’s campsite.
The spokesperson also said that the video was “intended to highlight these precious Mayan sites in Mexico” and that it was “unfortunate that this has been transformed into a political problem – I hope it can lead to a productive dialogue and encourage people to visit these unique historical treasures”.
The president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, called on Wednesday to an investigation into the conditions under which the shooting permit had been granted.
In the legend of the video, MrBeast thanks Mexican tourism and the government authorities for permission to film on the sites, while connecting links to his chocolate product.
The video shows him and his team, exploring the limited access zones in the Mayan cities of Calakmul and Chichen Itzá. At one point, he says “I cannot believe that the government lets us do this.”
They are also shown seeming to descend into a pyramid from a helicopter and another scene, he is shown by manipulating an old pre-HISPAN mask.
But the heritage authorities said it was “false affirmations” and accused the Youtuber of having presented a disinformation. Inah said Mr. MRBEAST had never organized a real prehispanic mask and that there seemed to have been an edition of in -depth post -production in the video – like the helicopter scene.
“All of them are false claims that obey the theatricality of the Youtuber in question,” said his declaration on Monday.
The Secretary of Culture of Mexico, Claudia Curiel de Icaza, said Thursday that, although they authorized the permit for MrBeat to film, they had never authorized the publication of false information or the use of images of the Heritage Site for Brand Advertising.
“We are disapproving of any commercial prosecution which distorts the value of archaeological sites, which are a legacy of our indigenous cultures and the pride of our nation,” she said.
She added that, although Mexico is open to the content which contributes to the “knowledge and dissemination of the archaeological and cultural heritage of Mexico”, it was firmly against those who “take advantage of the will of the institutions”.
She said that Oin envisaged “administrative sanctions” against Full Circle Media, who received the license to film. The BBC asked for comments from the company.
MrBeast, nicknamed the king of YouTube, is the most underestimated person on the platform, with 395 million followers. His Mayan Pyramid video was published on May 10.
