ECU declines to comment on MrBeast how-to; some faculty offer ideas for university's nascent creator workforce curriculum.
Hailey Yentz & Mary Beth Wall | GNP contributors
A leaked document from the MrBeast organization looks like it could be a template for the content creator program ECU is looking to build with the popular YouTuber.
It reveals the “secret sauce” that Jimmy Donaldson has spread to success as his avatar, MrBeast. It reads like a step-by-step build to his signature videos. It delves into what reads as his strict expectations for his employees.
Whether ECU is thinking about adopting some or all of the document as the curriculum for its nascent program it’s hard to know. The university isn’t publicly saying.
The Greenville News Project also found that lots of other people aren’t talking either. That includes YouTuber and MrBeast critic, Rosanna Pansino. She appears to be the first to post the leaked document, “How to succeed at MrBeast production.”
The leaked document
In August, YouTuber Rosanna Pansino was the first to share the 36-page document through her video titled, “The Real MrBeast… (Leaked Document).”
Pansino is a baker, cookbook author, singer, actress, business lady, and now an outspoken critic of MrBeast, after being a part of the third installment of his MrBeast’s Creator Games.
In her video she describes the how-to document as an "internal employee manual written by MrBeast, Jimmy himself." She confirms its authenticity, stating that she verified it with two former MrBeast employees.
Pansino describes the document as an outline of how MrBeast expects his company to be managed. She points out that it is poorly written, containing grammar mistakes such as, “they aren’t.” She notes the irony of that since the document includes tough language from Donaldson’s on the high expectations he sets for his team.
“I think this gives you some insight into the kind of person Jimmy is,” she says in her video. “He outlines in great detail what he expects from his employees, and to me, it feels like the mask is starting to slip.”
GNP reached out to Pansino over multiple social media channels—Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok, and YouTube—but received no response. Most platforms limited direct messages to one due to her verified status, further restricting contact options.
GNP also reached out to Pansino’s personal manager, Mike Lamond, via LinkedIn. He initially replied, asking GNP to email him with questions. However, after the initial email, he did not respond to any of the news site’s follow-up reminders.
YouTuber Tremain Hayhoe was one of the few to respond to GNP’s inquiries. He reviewed the entire document in his two-hour video titled, “How MrBeast's Production Team Actually Works (SHOCKING Document!)”
Hayhoe told GNP that the document has been repeatedly "scrubbed" from the internet because it's a confidential company document. He noted that most employees who had access to it likely signed nondisclosure agreements, or NDAs, that prevent them from leaking it.
Clues to the MrBeast company work climate run through the how-to document. One example is the section titled, “It’s okay for the boys to be childish.”
In it, Donaldson writes, “People like when we are in our natural element of stupidity. Really do everything you can to empower the boys when filming and help them make content. Help them be idiots.”
Hayhoe’s take on that: “I guess it’s like a ‘boys club’ in terms of if the majority of the company is male it can become ‘fraternity-like’ where you have camaraderie amongst fellow men where they can make jokes, tease each other, et cetera, without being judged by the PC [politically correct] outside world.”
Since Pansino’s video debuted, the leaked how-to document has been posted to YouTube by eight other influencers besides Hayhoe, and it has generated a lot of attention.
None of the eight responded to GNP's inquiries. Reporters posted requests for interviews on their channels, but they removed the posts citing "harassment" over the topic.
In all, the news site contacted 22 people—including influencers, ECU faculty and others—and only seven responded. Donaldson was not among them. Reporters tried to contact him by email and X but got no response.
GNP also reached out to two of Donaldson's former employees, Logan Paul and Jake Weddle, and they too did not respond. Reporters contacted a current employee who declined to comment due to confidentiality agreements.
Finding the ‘secret sauce’
Over 13 years, Donaldson has attracted 331 million subscribers to his channel. And he has created a secret formula that gets his videos going viral.
In the “How to succeed” document, Donaldson says he dedicated “basically 5 years of my life locked in a room studying virality on YouTube. ... Some days me and other nerds would spend 20 hours straight studying the most minor thing.”
He knows how to hook viewers. He writes, “anytime we do something that no other creator can do, that separates us in their mind and makes our videos more special to them.
“It’s important we never lose our wow,” he says.
According to the MrBeast channel, Donaldson’s highest viewed videos include “$456,000 Squid Game in Real Life!” “Last to Leave Circle Wins $500,000,” and “$1 vs $500,000 Plane Ticket!” They range from 434 million to 669 million views each.
The document and ECU
In November 2022, ECU and Donaldson signed a Memorandum of Agreement to work together to launch a Content Creator Workforce Program at the university. In an April story, GNP reported finding no evidence of progress developing the project.
When the GNP reached out again in the fall to update its earlier story, responses from ECU administrators and faculty were limited.
Chip Galusha, the acting director of ECU’s Miller School of Entrepreneurship, vaguely recollected the program, saying he heard it mentioned two years ago.
It seemed likely that a program on the entrepreneurial work of content creation would involve the Miller School, but Galusha suggested otherwise. "I am not familiar with it other than seeing the original announcement nor have I had any dealings with it other than the document you have shown me," he said.
He did say that starting a content creator program could potentially be a good idea for ECU.
GNP asked Jeannine Hutson, ECU’s chief communications officer, whether the “How to succeed” is a template for ECU’s nascent creator program. She replied, "The document is not associated with the university, and it would be inappropriate for a university representative to comment on it."
ECU’s Sharon Paynter directed the GNP to the university’s Nov. 12, 2022, press release that announced the university’s agreement with the MrBeast company. Paynter is ECU’s chief officer of Innovation and Engagement, and interim chief research officer.
In her email reply to GNP she attached a copy of the NDA Chancellor Philip Rogers signed with the MrBeast company. The NDA prohibits ECU and MrBeast from disclosing any proprietary material they shared as they develop the creator program.
Hutson said that “to the best of our knowledge and belief,” Rogers’ NDA is the only one “signed between a university representative and the MrBeast organization and was signed related ‘to discussions regarding one or more research projects to benefit University and the region of eastern North Carolina’.”
It also seemed likely that a content creator program would eventually involve ECU’s department of Continuing and Professional Education since university officials have indicated it would not be a for-credit academic program of semester-long classes.
But Annette Kariko, the director of Continuing and Professional Education at ECU, also said she knew little about the content creator program.
She did say that proposals for non-credit courses must meet specific criteria, such as addressing workforce needs, professional development, or providing significant learning opportunities. These opportunities could include earning continuing education units (CEUs), micro-credentials or certifications or fostering professional networks and communities of practice.
Survey asks faculty for help
On March 26, ECU’s Office of Research, Economic Development, and Engagement (REDE) distributed a Qualtrics survey to ECU faculty members, asking what contributions they could offer to a Creator Workforce Education Program.
GNP obtained the survey responses through a public records request. It appears that 22 out of 2,000-plus full-time faculty responded, and their names and other possibly identifying information were redacted.
ECU’s deputy general counsel, Jenny McKellar, said the redactions were made for “employment-related or personal information gathered by an employer.”
One item in the survey asked faculty about the “disciplinary and/or curricular contributions [they] envision” contributing to an ECU content creator program.
The responses varied by the faculty member’s discipline. Among them were “developing courses or workshops,” “leadership development, professional skills enhancement, and branding,” and “brainstorming strategies for creating viral content for social media.”
One faculty member wrote that content creation “is an exciting field that is changing the way we educate people.”
Another wrote at length about the perils of ECU collaborating with MrBeast. “There has been legitimate criticism aimed at his [Donaldson’s] product, including workplace culture issues, in terms of whether it exploits people and the ethics surrounding it.
“I realize this may not be a popular opinion, but we need to make sure is … not just another piece of merchandise marketed by the Beast organization.”
Yentz and Wall produced this story for the Fall 2024 course In-depth Reporting Capstone at the School of Communication, East Carolina University.
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