Did YouTuber MrBeast burn down 20 million trees? Here’s the truth

YouTube star Jimmy "MrBeast" Donaldson caused a stir on April 1, 2025, with a shocking post on X (formerly Twitter). He wrote, "Proud to announce I’ve burned down 20,000,000 trees! Can’t wait to upload this video." The post quickly went viral, getting over a million views in hours. While some fans knew it was an April Fool’s joke, others were confused and worried.

The claim was completely false. MrBeast is known for his charity work, and this was just a joke. His post referred to Team Trees, an environmental project he started in 2019 with YouTuber Mark Rober. The campaign aimed to plant 20 million trees, and by April 2025, more than 24 million trees had been planted worldwide.

 

April 1, 2025

Fans reaction

People had mixed reactions. Some fans laughed, but others thought it was a bad joke. One user sarcastically asked, "How many kids did you blind, MrBeast?"—referring to his 2023 video where he paid for eye surgeries for 1,000 blind people. MrBeast jokingly replied, "1,000 so then I have more to cure!"

Team Trees project

Even though it was a prank, the post brought attention back to his charity work. His Team Trees project is still going strong, planting trees around the world. His 2023 video, 1,000 Blind People See For The First Time, has over 200 million views. 

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