UPDATE MARCH 16, 2026 — At the awesome Media Swap last weekend, someone asked me how I review YouTubers. I want to uplift this piece that documents the basic process. Not everyone has the time or context to take all of these steps, which is why I’m here.

While reviewing Brent Rivera, I was forced to confront and review my method for evaluating a YouTube channel.

I purposely add nuance into my reviews, but when it comes to Rivera and other prankster bros, it’s hard. That’s why I took a strong look at my system for reviews, to make sure I give each YouTuber and YouTube channel a fair shake:

My Process for Reviewing YouTube Channels

1. I watch at least ten of their videos, starting with their most popular ones. By #5, I seek out specific episodes to test theories on my questions about content, which may include:

-Checking language/actions for subtle racism or misogyny, for instance, that are inherently found in the pranks/challenges sub-genres. If I sense there are consistent themes that go against our core values, I’ll continue watching. I need to see if it was a specific phase. Sometimes it’s a guest that waved a red flag for me.

Questions I ask while watching a YouTuber

• If I don’t like the content, can I see an entertainment or educational value?
• How clear are they with what is scripted vs what is reality?
• I check for hidden advertisements or undisclosed brand deals.
• I genuinely try to drop all bias if their videos are made with good intentions.
• Do they punch up or punch down in their content?
• Do they claim to be family friendly but are not?
• Do they know their audience skews younger (if they do) and how do they talk about it? I usually find this information in interviews or VidCon panels with the creators.
• What kind of merch do they sell and are they forthright about it?

Next I conduct research on their character and origin stories

I do often search for “creator’s name + controversy” to see what comes up. I watch interviews with them and observe their collaborations. I also view their featured videos and channels. I generally see what motivates them to be on YouTube at all.

I like to dig into their origin stories. I explore their motivations to continue creating videos and how they treat their communities. A lot of the bigger channels today blew up before the monetization of YouTube. They evolved from a one-person show to managing a team in their twenties. Some did this intentionally, like Mythical and Complexly. Others did it hastily and without proper Human Resources personnel in place (see: Linus Tech Tips, among others).

A deep dive into MrBeast (Jimmy Donaldson) did lead me to give him too much benefit of the doubt on some things. However, he still isn’t quite the Batman villain that others try to paint him as. [UPDATE MARCH 16, 2026 — He just announced that he’s “getting into finance.” He went too far on the Elon train and can’t go back.]

I have some videos in progress where I’ll show the steps to my review process. You can watch extended interviews or commentary in the Patreon community. If you don’t use Patreon, just subscribe to this site (below) for notifications.

Read Brent RIvera: Prankster without a cause

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