Online pranks that cross the line

“Everything is funny, as long as it’s happening to somebody else.” – Will Rogers

Last Aug. 1, 2023, three vloggers were arrested by the police for a staged kidnapping prank done a few months ago. The arrest stemmed from an incident that happened last April 6, 2023 where the three vloggers allegedly staged a scene in which, “men wearing black bonnets acted like they were kidnapping an individual on a street in Las Piñas City”. The said prank, however, was witnessed by a police staff sergeant who lodged a criminal complaint against the vloggers.

A few months ago, a policeman in Davao City collared a pair of vloggers for “causing unwarranted alarm and disturbance”. Apparently, one of the vloggers allegedly asked a gasoline attendant to pour gasoline into a bottle and then pretended to drink the same. The vlogger then, allegedly pretended to be poisoned, which caused some degree of alarm and panic.

With the increasing number of YouTube vloggers on the internet, the battle for subscribers and viewers have pushed many vloggers to turn to questionable content to increase their following and corresponding income. Taking a prank too far is now a common method for vloggers to gain more viewers. These new breed of vloggers do not care if they are bashed or reviled, as long as their videos are viewed.

There is now an ongoing discussion on how to address this increasing trend of video pranks that cross the line. Essentially, pranks involve setting up situations to make someone believe something that is not true to cause them to display a reaction which many find funny. Generally, pranks should be harmless jokes but, a growing number of pranks can already be considered harmful behavior especially when it causes emotional or mental pain to its victims. Pranks that do not cause harmless joy or fun but rather stress, alarm and cruelty are clearly ones that cross the line.

Pranks that cross the line have negative effects on the subject of the prank. And sometimes, pranks backfire on the one doing the prank. In the United States, some of the so-called video pranks have, over the years, resulted in dire consequences.

A couple of years ago, a 20-year-old was shot dead in the parking lot of a Nashville City establishment after allegedly taking part in a prank robbery with large knives as their “props.” Their prank victim thought that the alleged prank robbery was real and promptly shot one of the vloggers.

In another old online trend, children on TikTok asked a friend to stand between them and jump after which they sweep their legs out from under them in mid-air causing them to fall. This so-called trend caused at least one death.

One of the more recent online prank gone wrong is the famous case of a popular YouTuber who was shot in the abdomen after allegedly playing a prank against someone who clearly was offended by the prank. The said online personality told news reporters that “the experience would not prevent him from making more prank videos in the future.”

In the Las Piñas “kidnapping” prank, the police on the scene had allegedly already drawn his service firearm. Fortunately, he did not fire his gun that day. What if another more “proactive” cop had been on the scene?

In the Philippines, the PNP have “warned vloggers and online influencers to stop making crime pranks unless they want to end up in jail…” It is clear that the authorities are ready to throw the book at video pranksters that cross the line.

It is sad to note that even with all the consequences of pranks that cross the line, many vloggers still resort to the same because of the money and attention they get. In addition, many argue that the penalties for pranks that cross the line are too light. Moreover, the social media platforms must also do their bit in controlling these harmful prank videos before things get out of hand.

Perhaps, it is time for new legislation to be passed which would impose heavier punishment on those found guilty of causing stress, pain, alarms and scandals with these video pranks. In addition to longer jail time, some people have suggested that convicted pranksters should be deprived of their right to go online. I would go further and suggest that whatever income a vlogger earns from their videos in question should be forfeited and given to their victims or the government. These two measures would tackle two of the common motives for excessive pranking, which is attention and money.

Some would argue that we should not regulate these vloggers because it would allegedly violate their freedom of expression. This freedom, however, cannot be used to violate other people’s rights and much worse, cause harm or alarm. Sometimes, we need a hammer to knock some common sense into some people.

This is my oblique observation.

Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in the foregoing article are solely the author’s and do not reflect the opinions and beliefs of the Philippine News Agency (PNA) or any other office under the Presidential Communications Office.