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Episode details

World Service,17 Dec 2025,8 mins

The growing trend of influencers fronting charity campaigns

What in the World

Available for over a year

Charity used to be about bake sales and running marathons. Now it’s all about thumbnails, hashtags, and stunts. Recently, MrBeast ran a massive campaign called #TeamWater - he partnered up with WaterAid and 10,000 other content creators. It raised over $40 million and is the biggest example so far in terms of number of influencers involved in a charitable campaign. Now other influencers, and charities are following this trend - working together on campaigns. So what happens when charity becomes content? Does this represent the future of philanthropy? Makuochi Okafor, a BBC reporter in Nigeria talks us through this growing trend and we hear from Gisela Amponsa, a Ghanaian digital creator, who was part of the #TeamWater campaign. Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworld Email: [email protected] WhatsApp: +44 330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Hannah Gelbart Producer: Julia Ross-Roy Editors: Verity Wilde and Harriet Oliver

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