Pulling pranks on unsuspecting people and uploading them on YouTube has become one of the most popular ways to get people to like and share your video. Pulling a fast one on a hapless individual seems to be the ‘in’ thing off late and since it’s one of the easiest things to do to make yourself popular on social media, everybody’s getting on board this trend.
YouTube/Trollstation
Where to draw the line?
But some really push their luck by taking things a bit too far, pulling pranks that should ideally be condemned. Not to forget, some can get into real trouble if someone does decide to report the incident, like YouTube channel – Trollstation. Four members of the controversial channel have found themselves in a lot of trouble (jail trouble) because of a prank their channel pulled back in July 2015 for doing fake robberies and worse, fake kidnappings.
Trollstation/YouTube
What happened?
Trolllstation definitely crossed the line when the group got themselves involved in a fake robbery at London’s National Portrait Gallery and a fake kidnapping in July 2015. Four members from the team have been jailed for it. Before this, a fifth member has also been put in prison in March thanks to a bomb hoax prank. The channel is known to be notorious for staging pranks around the British capital and have a rather impressive subscriber base of 718,000. Daniel Jarvis, 27, Helder Gomes, 23, Endrit Ferizolli, 20, and Ebenezer Mensah, 29, all pleaded guilty to two counts of using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour with intent to cause fear of, and provoke unlawful violence for their involvement in the two hoaxes. While Jarvis got 20 weeks in prison, Mensah and Gomes got 18 weeks each and Ferizolli 16 weeks.
Trollstation/YouTube
Do we need to define the laws for such pranks?
As our tolerance level towards what’s acceptable in the name of ‘humour’ keeps changing every now and then, walking the fine line becomes difficult. As Indians, we are very well familiar with this intolerance debate. Having said that, one must admit that pulling off fake robberies and kidnapping pranks can get a bit too far. Light, a member of the group, realises that. He said the group will continue to do crazy pranks but will “re-evaluate” their approach over things.