Tyler Oliveira
| Tyler Oliveira | |
|---|---|
| Personal information | |
| Born | January 6, 2000 |
| Nationality | American |
| YouTube information | |
| Channel | |
| Years active | 2018–present |
| Subscribers | 6.98 million[1] |
| Total views | 1.9 billion[1] |
Last updated: November 20, 2024 | |
Tyler Oliveira (born January 6, 2000)[2] is an American YouTuber and investigative journalist.[3] Oliveira's videos generally feature man-on-the-street interviews in places he visits, including Vancouver and Springfield, Ohio.[4] Oliveira has been criticized for perpetuating misinformation, recording interviewees without their consent, and misrepresenting them.
Videos
[edit]Oliveira posted a video in January 2020 where he attempted to soak up a pool using a large number of paper towel rolls.[5][6] After he realized that it would require more than a million paper towels to do so, he attempted to explode the remaining paper towels with a firework. Several viewers criticized the video as being extremely wasteful. Initially, Oliveira argued that the paper towels would have existed regardless of whether he used them or not. A few days later, he apologized for the video, saying that he donated $1000 to the Australian Red Cross and encouraged viewers to donate.[5][6]
In November 2023, Oliveira released a video covering drug decriminalization in Vancouver, Canada.[7] A British Columbia representative who appeared in the video, Elenore Sturko, alleged that she was filmed without her consent and labeled the video "inaccurate and exploitative".[8] Michael Manitoba was filmed while suffering from a drug overdose without his consent, which harm reduction and recovery expert Guy Felicella called disgusting.[9] Several harm-reduction advocates criticized a portion of the video filmed by YouTuber and homeless service provider Kevin Dahlgren, purportedly in an overdose prevention site, which they said was actually a homeless shelter. Prior to the publication of the video, Dahlgren was charged by the district attorney of Multnomah County, Oregon for theft, identity theft, and "misuse of his official position as a homeless services specialist".[8][10] Colby Cosh, writing in the National Post, defended Oliveira's video as both legal and ethical and criticized CTV News (which published several criticisms of Oliveira) for "discouraging competitors" in journalism.[11]
Oliveira interviewed the Whittakers in March 2024, a family commonly described as "America’s most inbred".[12] YouTuber Mark Laita had previously interviewed the Whittakers and created a GoFundMe account purportedly to help the family buy a house. Oliveira alleged that the money raised was being withheld from the Whittakers. Laita responded with a video showcasing several bank transactions between him and the Whittakers and argued that their lives were significantly better after the fundraiser. Laita ended the fundraiser and said that he would be stepping back from filming the family. A.W. Ohlheiser, writing for Vox, labeled the genre of both Youtubers "poverty porn" and argued that such content left viewers entertained rather than encouraging them to attack structures that lead to poverty.[4]
In September 2024, Oliveira posted on X several interviews of Springfield, Ohio residents about Haitian residents in the city, and one interviewee told Oliveira that he saw Haitian immigrants taking over one hundred cats in a white van who told police that they were eating them, a claim not corroborated by the police.[13][3] He posted a video to YouTube about Springfield shortly after, with AI-generated images and memes interspersed between interviews, gaining 4.5 million views within ten days.[14][3][15] NPR criticized Oliveira for misrepresenting a Haitian interviewee as a reckless driver and noted that the cover image was a Haitian man that appeared to be altered to show the man holding a cat.[3] Several news outlets noted Oliveira as a part of a larger trend of right-wing influencers who travelled to Springfield based on false allegations of Haitian immigrants eating pets.[15][13][3]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "About @TylerOliveira". YouTube.
- ^ Oliveira, Tyler (April 7, 2024). I Investigated the City of Sëggz Offenders… (Video).
- ^ a b c d e Jingnan, Huo; Nguyen, Audrey; Joffe-Block, Jude (September 20, 2024). "How influencers flocked to Springfield chasing debunked rumors and attention". NPR. Retrieved November 19, 2024.
- ^ a b Ohlheiser, A.W. (March 21, 2024). "The latest drama in "poverty porn" YouTube, explained". Vox. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
- ^ a b Ritschel, Chelsea (January 15, 2020). "YouTuber criticised for using '100,000 rolls of paper towels' to soak up a pool". The Independent. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
- ^ a b Lee, Alicia (January 19, 2020). "YouTuber who tried to soak up a pool with 100,000 paper towels criticized for wasting 100,000 paper towels". CNN. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
- ^ Oliveira, Tyler (November 2, 2023). I Investigated the Country Where Every Drug is Legal... (Video).
- ^ a b Weichel, Andrew (November 13, 2023). "B.C. MLA says she didn't agree to appear in 'exploitative' drug crisis video". CTV News. Retrieved November 19, 2024.
- ^ Zavarise, Isabella (December 4, 2023). "'It's unethical': Man filmed having an overdose urges people to stop recording residents on DTES". CTV News. Retrieved November 19, 2024.
- ^ Land, Joni Auden (November 4, 2023). "Portland YouTube creator, homeless service provider Kevin Dahlgren arrested for theft and misconduct". Oregon Public Broadcasting. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
- ^ Cosh, Colby (December 7, 2023). "Colby Cosh: CTV stands against journalism if it shows the misery of drug use". National Post. Retrieved November 19, 2024.
- ^ Cailler, Adam; Smith, Reanna (August 29, 2024). "Inside squalid home of 'America's most inbred' family the Whittaker's as donations cut off". Daily Mirror. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
- ^ a b Horn, Dan; Moorwood, Victoria (September 18, 2024). "How right-wing social media took false claims about Haitians eating pets to the debate". Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved November 19, 2024.
- ^ Oliveira, Tyler (September 10, 2024). Inside the Ohio Town Invaded by "Cat-Eating" Haitians (Video).
- ^ a b Valle, Gaby Del (September 12, 2024). "Right-wingers can't get enough of anti-Haitian AI disinformation". The Verge. Retrieved November 20, 2024.