FACT CHECK: Did The Pentagon Give Money To MrBeast To Try To Increase Army Recruitment Rate?

A video shared on Instagram claims the Pentagon gave money to YouTube star Jimmy MrBeast Donaldson in an effort to persuade children to want to enlist in the army.

Verdict: False

Although the Pentagon and MrBeast were going to work on content together, this agreement fell through.

Fact Check:

Donaldson recently announced his engagement to his girlfriend, Thea Booysen, who also runs a YouTube channel, according to BBC. He proposed to her on Christmas Day while her family was visiting, telling People Magazine that he wanted an “intimate” proposal and had similar plans for the wedding, the outlet reported.

An Instagram video claims the Pentagon paid Donaldson in an effort to boost dwindling recruitment numbers. The post shows a young man speaking to the camera with an image of the content creator and an image of the Pentagon.

“Taxpayer money was poured to MrBeast to try to get kids to enlist in the military,” a man speaking in the video claims. He then goes on to claim, without evidence, that specific videos from Donaldson were funded by the Pentagon.

“Apparently Mr. beast was paid by the government to make propaganda content to persuade kids to enlist in the army?” the caption reads, in part.

This post is not accurate, however. It is true that the Pentagon had approved funding to work on content with MrBeast, but this did not end up happening, according to Rolling Stone. “We did complete a PAA for the Social Influencer Mr. Beast, but ultimately did not support the production as he did not go to Puerto Rico for the Hurricane relief, so that PAA is cancelled,” a Pentagon spokesperson told the Rolling Stone. Although the article mentions that military recruitment has hit historic lows, it does not say this project was intended to increase recruitment.

MrBeast made an X post corroborating this. “They were going to help us with some hurricane relief projects but it didn’t end up happening,” it reads. (RELATED: Is The Pentagon Using ‘Operation Necromancer’ To Intercept Drones?)

That’s not true. They were going to help us with some hurricane relief projects but it didn’t end up happening. Can I go 1 week without someone making up something about me 😭

— MrBeast (@MrBeast) January 3, 2025