Steven Williams, the man who plays Boogie2988 on YouTube, admitted on Twitter that when he and other YouTubers do “random” giveaways, they vet the winner online to see if they are an “asshole” and if they decide they are, they then randomly pick someone else.
https://twitter.com/Boogie2988/status/996141815425323011
I don’t know if this is illegal or not. I’m not a lawyer. I do watch a lot of Judge Judy and I used to watch L.A. Law. That said, it certainly seems sketchy to me. There are federal laws involving contests and giveaways.
This might make a good topic for lawyer Nick Rekieta, host of the YouTube channel of Rekieta Law to cover in a future episode.
One of the many problems with this statement is who Steve considers an asshole and what others consider an asshole is probably vastly different. I know by criticizing Steve on my blog for the things he has had his various characters (Boogie2988, Francis, Jessy) say on YouTube and Twitch, I’m probably someone he would deem to be an asshole.
I’m more than fine with that. If Steve thought I was an asshole, it would probably make me feel proud. Also, I would never put myself in a position where I was trying to win something Steve was randomly giving away to his fans. I’m not a fan. I watch his videos for the unintended entertainment value his content provides.
I used to think he was a nice person, but that opinion ended a long time ago. Watch enough of his YouTube videos, you start to pick up inconsistencies with the things he says. This is especially true if you bother to watch his Twitch videos. His content on Twitch really shows what a fake person he is on YouTube.
One of the other problems with his tweet is that he includes other YouTubers into the act of vetting winners of random giveaways. My guess is it was something he spoke about with other YouTubers at the recent YouTube Creator Summit.
I know Steve attended and met with other people who make content on YouTube. I wouldn’t even be surprised if this was something YouTube told creators to do.
If you thought other YouTubers would not appreciate being outed as doing something like this, you would be right:
https://twitter.com/LamarrWilson/status/996157242570194945
The first rule of fight club, don’t talk about fight club.
Again, I don’t know if this activity is illegal, but I know it seems sketchy. I learned in the military that even the appearance of inappropriateness is almost as bad as inappropriateness.
Is it inappropriate to pick someone at random to win something and then after checking their online conduct, pick someone else at random? In my opinion, yes.
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