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PewDiePie asks for end to 'subscribe' meme after synagogue shooting
PewDiePie (aka Felix Kjellberg) has largely left himself out of commentary on the effects of the "subscribe to PewDiePie" meme that has been circulating for months, but he's now weighing in. The YouTube star has posted a video calling on viewers to end the meme roughly a day after a shooter at a California synagogue referenced it in his screed. While he had already used Twitter to condemn the Christchurch, New Zealand mass shooter's reference in March, he realized the meme "should have ended then" and that more was necessary.
YouTube wunderkind PewDiePie earns over $4 million each year
If you're contemplating a career change, you may want to look into playing video games and shouting into a camera, as doing just that has made Felix Kjellberg a millionaire. Better known by his phonetically troublesome online handle "PewDiePie," Kjellberg has turned online video game streaming into a massively lucrative venture. According to the Wall Street Journal, the PewDiePie brand now attracts more than $4 million each year in ad revenue, thanks to the 27 million subscribers who follow Kjellberg's YouTube channel, where the 24-year-old frequently uploads videos of himself playing (and swearing at) various games. Kjellberg attributes his success not to dumb luck or having capitalized on the streaming games trend at the exact right moment, but to a more personal touch that comes through in his videos. "Unlike many professionally produced shows, I think I've established a much closer contact with my viewers, breaking the wall between the viewer and what's behind the screen," he told the Wall Street Journal. "What I and other YouTubers do is a very different thing, it's almost like hanging around and watching your pal play games." [Image: YouTube/PewDiePie]
