What in the World - The growing trend of influencers fronting charity campaigns

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Charity used to be about bake sales and running marathons. Now it’s all about thumbnails, hashtags, and stunts.

Recently, MrBeast ran a massive campaign called #TeamWater - he partnered up with WaterAid and 10,000 other content creators. It raised over $40 million and is the biggest example so far in terms of number of influencers involved in a charitable campaign.

Now other influencers, and charities are following this trend - working together on campaigns.
So what happens when charity becomes content? Does this represent the future of philanthropy?

Makuochi Okafor, a BBC reporter in Nigeria talks us through this growing trend and we hear from Gisela Amponsa, a Ghanaian digital creator, who was part of the #TeamWater campaign.

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Presenter: Hannah Gelbart
Producer: Julia Ross-Roy
Editors: Verity Wilde and Harriet Oliver

Published on Wednesday, 17th December 2025.

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