People are freaking out over YouTuber PewDiePie's ISIS tweet
LOS ANGELES -- PewDiePie ignited fan confusion and some outrage Tuesday after tweeting he and fellow YouTuber Jacksepticeye have "joined ISIS."
PewDiePie (whose real name is Felix Kjellberg) and JackSepticEye (whose real name is Seán William McLoughlin) did not reply to Mashable's requests for comment.
A Twitter representative told Mashable that "we don't comment on individual accounts for privacy and security reasons."
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The ISIS comment was made during a series of tweets about Kjellberg being unverified by the platform. The Swedish YouTuber, known for his gaming videos, has amassed more than 46 million subscribers to his channel.
Kjellberg -- who recently hated on media outlets that mentioned his name when reporting on the Warner Brothers "pay for play" settlement -- is seemingly joking in all of them. And McLoughlin is actually still verified.
But many of Kjellberg's fans are not happy about the ISIS comment.
Some fervent fans are calling for the YouTuber to get re-verified.
A handful of others began re-using a #savepewdiepie hashtag, which first began a few weeks ago when some felt the YouTuber was crying out for help.
Fans raised similar concerns in July after 19-year-old UK beauty vlogger Marina Rose Joyce posted videos that fans perceived as a cry for help. Shortly after, #SaveMarinaJoyce and #SaveMariaJoyce trending on Twitter across the world.
One conspiracy theory suggested Joyce had been kidnapped by ISIS and was organizing a meetup to lure teenagers to a terror attack. She later said she was OK (as did local authorities who investigated the case).
Kjellberg's tweets come just one day after the YouTube star, known for his gaming videos, announced the launch of his second game Tuber Simulator.
Saba was a Los Angeles-based reporter who covers all things digital entertainment, including YouTube, streaming services and digital influencers. Prior to that, she spent two years at the Los Angeles Times covering entertainment for the Calendar and Company Town sections. Saba grew up in Santa Monica and graduated from Boston University with a B.S. in journalism and B.A. in political science. When not reporting, she is usually binge watching shows online or looking for new coffee shops to frequent.
