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A YouTube video where a young man believes he and his best friend are kidnapped — and where his best friend pretends to be murdered by a masked man — has incited outrage from thousands of people.
A YouTuber by the name of Sam Pepper decided to play a prank on a Vine user named Sam Golbach. Pepper got Golbach’s best friend Colby Brock to get in on the joke.
In the video, Golbach and Brock are seen driving down a quiet road when their car suddenly stops. When the friends get out to investigate, a masked man approaches Golbach, throws a black hood over his head, ties him up, and throws him in the trunk.
The video then cuts to a rooftop, where Golbach and Brock are tied up in chairs next to each other. The masked man points a gun at Brock’s head, as Golbach pleads for his friend’s life. Then suddenly, the gun fires, and Golbach cries and screams in distress.
The end of the video shows Golbach a couple of days later, smiling and saying, “That was crazy. Props to you guys, that was insane.”
But YouTube fans and viewers aren’t so forgiving. They’re calling the prank “cruel,” “vile,” and “disgusting.”
I once thought Sam Pepper was alright, however, his recent video disgusts me. Nobody should ever exploit absolute desperation and terror…
— James McVey (@TheVampsJames) November 30, 2015
Sam Pepper, you are a horrible human being.
— kornelia (@Korneliavii) December 2, 2015
I don’t know who Sam pepper is, I’ve heard of him before but that “prank video” is disgusting.
— ken (@Missybeans1) December 2, 2015
This is the darkest thing I’ve seen in a while. Cried real tears. This is not okay. Let @YouTube know | https://t.co/0yUdJjg74W #SamPepper
— Alex G (@AlexGMusic7) December 2, 2015
Sam Pepper the type of dude to unplug someones life support to charge his iphone and call it a Social Experiment
— Kameron (@Icy_Rapture) December 2, 2015
Despite the backlash against this video, YouTube claims it does not break its community guidelines. Therefore, the video will remain on the site.
Meanwhile, Golbach is actually defending Pepper and his video, despite being victimized for the sake of a prank. He posted this note via Twitter:
For those of you that watched Sam Pepper’s video… http://pic.twitter.com/vg7C9coKR0
— samuel (@SamGolbachh) November 29, 2015
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from Business Insider http://ift.tt/1HGC8up