‘Kindness’ influencers on TikTok give money to strangers. Why is that controversial?

Every Christmas growing up in Minnesota, Jimmy Darts’ parents gave him $200 in cash: $100 for himself and $100 for a stranger. Now, with over 12 million followers on TikTok and several million more on other platforms, philanthropy is his full-time job.

Darts, whose real surname is Kellogg, is one of the biggest creators of “kindness content,” a subset of social media videos devoted to helping strangers in need, often with cash amassed through GoFundMe and other crowdfunding methods. A growing number of creators like Kellogg give away thousands of dollars – sometimes even more – on camera as they also encourage their large followings to donate.

“The internet is a pretty crazy, pretty nasty place, but there’s still good things happening on there,” Kellogg told The Associated Press.

Not everyone likes these videos, though, with some viewers deeming them, at their best, performative, and at their worst, exploitative.

Critics argue that recording a stranger, often unknowingly, and sharing a video of them online to gain social media clout is problematic. Beyond clout, content creators can make money off the views they get on individual videos. When views reach the millions, as they often do for Kellogg and his peers, they make enough to work full-time as content creators.

Comedian Brad Podray, a content creator formerly known online as “Scumbag Dad,” creates parodies designed to highlight the faults he finds with this content — and its proponents — as one of the most vocal critics of “kindness content.”

“A lot of young people have a very utilitarian mindset. They think of things only in measurable value: ‘It doesn’t matter what he did, he helped a million people'," Podray said.

From the recording devices and methods down to the selection of subjects, “kindness content” — like everything on social media — exists on a spectrum.

Some creators approach strangers and ask them for advice or for a favor, and if they bite, they receive a prize. Others choose to reward strangers they see doing a good deed. Kellogg performs a “kindness challenge,” asking a stranger for something and returning it in kind.

Many of these strangers are unaware they’re being filmed. Some creators employ hidden cameras and aim to record subjects in a discreet manner. Kellogg said he wants to be as “secret about it as possible,” but asks for consent to share the video after the interaction. Kellogg said most agree because they look "like a superhero” after his challenge.

Another charitable content creator, Josh Liljenquist, said he uses a GoPro camera and tries to make recording “extremely noticeable," adding, “Consent’s the biggest thing."

Regardless of the recording method, some see the process as predatory.

“These guys always find someone with cancer or always find someone who can’t pay their bills because they’re stalking through underserved and poor areas and they’re just sort of waiting," Podray said. “Looking through the parking lot like, ‘He looks pathetic enough'.”

Karen Hoekstra, the marketing and communications manager for the Johnson Center for Philanthropy, studies TikTok-based influencer philanthropy and says the videos, at times, take advantage of their subjects.

“The model of the man on the street walking up and approaching a stranger and handing them money is — we’ve all heard this phrase, terrible as it is — it just strikes me as poverty porn,” Hoekstra said. “It’s exploitation.”

Calls of exploitation often come when creators feature the same people across multiple videos, especially when they appear to be homeless or have a drug addiction. Liljenquist features some people frequently and maintains that his recurring subjects are like his “best friends."

One user commented on an Oct. 5 video that recent content feels like Liljenquist is “playing case worker for views,” as he posted several videos of a woman who followers suspect is struggling with a drug addiction. He records himself bringing her food, giving her a ride in his Tesla, and asking her questions that often get one-word responses.

Liljenquist said criticism doesn’t bother him because he knows his intentions are good.

“I love these people," he said. “They love me.”

Some criticize the showmanship of “kindness content,” but visibility is crucial to the model that relies heavily on crowdfunding. Kellogg is known to start GoFundMe fundraisers on behalf of his video subjects, usually bringing in tens of thousands of dollars in viewer donations.

Kellogg, Liljenquist and scores of other creators also use their personal accounts on payment apps like Venmo, CashApp or PayPal to accept donations.

Tory Martin, also of the Johnson Center as its director of communications and strategic partnerships, said transparency about donations is “not an option if it’s just going to an individual.”

Although these creators aren’t held to standards and regulations like nonprofits, Liljenquist said he feels donor dollars go much further in his hands than in the hands of traditional organizations, which he said are “designed for failure.”

“Nonprofits — not all of them, there are some good ones — but I would just suggest you do your homework on the nonprofits that you are giving money to because there’s a good amount of them who take advantage of the system,” he said.

Some creators have set up nonprofit organizations or foundations to support their work, but that is not a widespread practice.

Podray said he is “100% sure” some creators “take a rake or that there’s some sort of nonsense going on.” He also maintains that select creators hand out fake money to cash in on the trend.

Kellogg said seeing fraudulent or exploitative videos is tough for him, worrying, “My gosh, every Facebook mom just fell for this and thinks it’s real.”

While controversy swirls around these videos in some online circles, they are part of a hugely popular social media trend with millions of supporters and thousands who are compelled to donate after watching.

Although Hoekstra has concerns about some creators’ methods, she said the introduction to charitable giving these videos make for young people is valuable.

“Anything that can present philanthropy to them in a new way and make it accessible and make it exciting I think is a good thing," she said. “Obviously, there’s going to be a learning curve, but I think it’s really exciting to see philanthropy be so accessible and understandable and embraced in these new spaces and in new ways.”

Some skeptics have become supporters. Kyle Benavidez said he used to see “kindness content” on social media and think it was fake. But after his mother was featured in one of Kellogg's recent videos and a GoFundMe Kellogg created for her raised over $95,000 to support their family while her husband is in the hospital with cancer, he said Kellogg’s online persona is true to his real-life character.

“There’s a chapel in the hospital and I always go there every morning just to pray. ‘Hopefully something happens.’ And then Jimmy came to our lives,” Benavidez, 20, said. “It's like God sent him.”

Kellogg shows no signs of slowing down his philanthropic work any time soon and rolls out videos across his social platforms almost every day. Still, he says doing good deeds on camera only matters if he and his peers keep it up when the cameras aren’t rolling.

“You can fool people all day and you can make money and do this and that, but God sees your heart,” he said.

Influencer Jimmy Darts poses for a portrait, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in Irvine, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

Influencer Jimmy Darts poses for a portrait, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in Irvine, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

Influencer Jimmy Darts poses for a portrait, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in Irvine, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

Influencer Jimmy Darts poses for a portrait, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in Irvine, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

Influencer Jimmy Darts poses for a portrait, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in Irvine, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

Influencer Jimmy Darts poses for a portrait, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in Irvine, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

Influencer Jimmy Darts poses for a portrait, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in Irvine, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

JERUSALEM (AP) — The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah vowed Friday to launch a new phase of fighting against Israel, a day after Israel said its forces in Gaza had killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, the chief architect of last year’s deadly attack on Israel that sparked the multifront war.

Sinwar’s killing, in what appeared to be a chance front-line encounter with Israeli troops, could shift the dynamics of the Gaza war even as Israel presses its offensive against Hezbollah with ground troops in southern Lebanon and airstrikes in other areas of the country. Hezbollah has fired rockets into Israel nearly every day since the Israel-Hamas war began.

Both Hamas and Hezbollah are backed by Iran, which hailed Sinwar as a martyr who can inspire others in challenging Israel.

Israel has pledged to destroy Hamas politically in Gaza, and killing Sinwar was a top military priority.

Hamas has not yet commented directly about Sinwar, but photos which were apparently taken by Israeli troops on the scene showed the body of a man who appeared to be him, half-buried in rubble and with a gaping wound in his head.

One of Hamas’ political leaders abroad Friday seemed to reference Sinwar's death in a statement, saying Israel is mistaken if it “believes that killing our leaders means the end of our movement and the struggle of the Palestinian people.”

“Hamas each time became stronger and more popular, and these leaders became an icon for future generations to continue the journey towards a free Palestine,” said Hamas political bureau member Bassem Naim, who is usually based in Qatar.

When asked if the statement was a confirmation of Sinwar’s death, however, Naim said it was not.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a speech announcing the killing Thursday night that “our war is not yet ended.” But many, from the governments of Israel's allies to exhausted residents of Gaza, expressed hope that Sinwar’s death would pave the way for an end to the war.

In Israel, families of hostages still held in Gaza demanded the Israeli government use Sinwar’s killing as a way to restart negotiations to bring home their loved ones. There are about 100 hostages remaining in Gaza, at least 30 of whom Israel says are dead.

“We are at an inflection point where the goals set for the war with Gaza have been achieved, all but the release of the hostages,” Ronen Neutra, father of the Israeli-American hostage Omer Neutra, said in a video statement. “Sinwar, who was described as a major obstacle to a deal, is no longer alive."

Netanyahu was planning to convene a special meeting Friday to discuss hostage negotiations, an Israeli official with knowledge of the negotiations said. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss confidential information.

Iran’s mission to the United Nations issued a statement honoring Sinwar, emphasizing that he died on the battlefield and not in hiding, unlike the their former enemy Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, who was hanged in 2006.

“When U.S. forces dragged a disheveled Saddam Hussein out of an underground hole, he begged them not to kill him despite being armed. Those who regarded Saddam as their model of resistance eventually collapsed,” the statement said. “However when Muslims look up to martyr Sinwar standing on the battlefield — in combat attire and out in the open, not in a hideout, facing the enemy — the spirit of resistance will be strengthened.”

More than 1 million people on both sides were killed during the brutal Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s that began when Hussein launched an invasion of Iran.

In Lebanon, Hezbollah issued a statement early Friday saying its fighters have used new types of precision-guided missiles and explosive drones against Israel for the first time in recent days.

Hezbollah's statement appeared to refer to an explosives-laden drone that evaded Israel’s multilayered air-defense system and slammed into a mess hall at a military training camp deep inside Israel last Sunday, killing four soldiers and wounding dozens.

The group also announced earlier this week that it fired a new type of missile called Qader 2 toward the suburbs of Tel Aviv.

The Israeli military said it would activate an additional reserve brigade to the north of its country to support troops battling in southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah said its fighters were working according to “plans prepared in advance” to battle invading Israeli troops in several parts of south Lebanon. It also announced several missile and artillery attacks on Israeli forces operating in villages in southern Lebanon’s border area overnight and Friday morning.

In one case, the group said it fired a heavy missile barrage at Israeli soldiers who were trying to evacuate those wounded in an earlier strike. The group also said it had fired “large missile salvos” at a military barracks in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights and at the Zvulun area north of Haifa.

Earlier this week, Hezbollah’s acting leader Naim Kassem warned the group will continue to target wider areas of Israel, which it has attacked with rockets nearly every day since Hamas' deadly incursion last year.

As Israel fought militants in Lebanon and in Gaza, its military said Friday that its forces had killed two militants who crossed into Israeli territory south of the Dead Sea from neighboring Jordan.

Such infiltrations are relatively rare, especially as Israel has ramped up border security since the Hamas attack in October 2023.

On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led militants blew holes in Israel’s security fence and stormed in, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting another 250. Israel’s offensive in Gaza has killed over 42,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities, who do not distinguish combatants from civilians. The war has destroyed vast swathes of Gaza and displaced about 90% of its population of 2.3 million people.

Abby Sewell and Bassem Mroue in Beirut contributed

A demonstrator holds a sign about the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar during a protest calling for a cease-fire deal and the immediate release of hostages held by Hamas on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Tel Aviv, Israel. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

A photo of Hamas Leader Yahya Sinwar is displayed on a TV screen at a barbershop in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Thursday, Oct 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

This video grab released by the Israeli military on Thursday Oct. 17, 2024, shows a destroyed building, with a person the Israeli military identified as Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar seated in chair. (IDF via AP)

FILE - Yahya Sinwar, head of Hamas in Gaza, chairs a meeting with leaders of Palestinian factions at his office in Gaza City, on April 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Adel Hana, File)