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Rubén Andrés
WriterWriter at Xataka. I've been working remotely for more than a decade and I'm a strong advocate of technology as a way to improve our lives. Full-time addict of black, sugar-free coffee.
Karen Alfaro
WriterCommunications professional with a decade of experience as a copywriter, proofreader, and editor. As a travel and science journalist, I've collaborated with several print and digital outlets around the world. I'm passionate about culture, music, food, history, and innovative technologies.
Many countries have a strong culture of dubbing content, consuming movies, series, and programs in their local language. As one of YouTube’s top content creators, MrBeast knows this. That’s why he said that if he were Facebook’s CEO, his first move would be implementing a dubbing system for videos—something YouTube already has. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg didn’t push back.
Speaking the same language as the audience. MrBeast and Zuckerberg appeared on the Colin and Samir Show podcast, where the interviewers asked Jimmy Donaldson (the YouTuber’s real name) what he would do if Zuckerberg appointed him CEO of Meta.
Donaldson pointed out that Meta’s video platforms lag behind in offering content in multiple languages. According to him, the lack of dubbing options negatively affects a video’s reach on the platform.
Limited reach in other languages. The YouTuber explained that audience engagement is significantly lower when watching a video in a language people don’t speak. That’s why he was particularly concerned about the translation tools of Meta.
“One thing I think really sucks [about Meta] is like on YouTube you can have different audio tracks. So, 70% of my audience on YouTube don’t speak English, so I upload videos, and then you just upload a bunch of different files, so if you click on my video in Mexico, it autoplays in Spanish. What’s brutal is when I post those same videos on Facebook or any of your platforms, I can’t import the dubs over, so my viewership is always just infinitely lower because people from Mexico and Brazil and things can’t watch it with dubs,” Donaldson said.
Audiences in India, Brazil, Indonesia, and Mexico. MrBeast’s traffic data is not public, but according to GMI, about 2.7 billion people worldwide use YouTube each month. Of these, 476 million are from India, 147 million from Brazil, 139 million from Indonesia, and 84.2 million from Mexico.
Viewers in more than 100 countries watch his videos in 80 languages, making multilingual accessibility key to his success.
That’s where Facebook comes in. MrBeast was clear: If he were Meta’s CEO, improving dubbing options would be one of his first priorities. He emphasized that Meta should help creators reach more people and increase engagement with their content. One of the most effective tools for that is voice.
“It’s pretty crippling once it clicks in your head. You’re like ‘Woah only like 20% of the world … or whatever the number is consumes content in English’ … it’s brutal,” Donaldson added.
Interestingly, Zuckerberg agreed. He acknowledged that the lack of dubbing options is a problem and that AI systems could be the solution. MrBeast has already found that using AI-generated dubs in his voice has increased audience engagement on other platforms.
Meta’s AI-powered multilingual future. Zuckerberg agreed with MrBeast on the importance of language accessibility, adding that AI systems could play a big role in solving the issue.
“The retention’s actually 1% higher in that language because when you do AI dubs you can use my voice instead of sounding like a voice actor,” Donaldson concluded, noting that his production company already uses AI voice cloning tools to dub videos rather than relying on a neutral dubbing voice or subtitles.
This option is even more crucial for Meta as it seeks a stronger global presence and a return to Facebook’s algorithm-free origins. By incorporating AI-generated dubs, Meta could boost engagement, expand its user base, and compete more effectively in the social media landscape.
Image | Colin and Samir Show | Muhammad Asyfaul (Unsplash) | Meta
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