'Subscribe to PewDiePie': YouTube King's Name Used to Deface WWII Monument

Two attention-grabbing semi-celebrities named PewDiePie and T-Series have been competing for the status of most popular YouTuber since the former - real name Felix Kjellberg - uploaded a video warning fans that he was on the verge of losing his most-subscribed YouTube channel title last summer, after posting regularly to it for five years.

But the fever surrounding their competition went a little too far after a World War II memorial located at the Cadman Plaza in Brooklyn, NY, was defaced by unknown vandals who scribbled “Subscribe to PewDiePie” on the monument.

News of the incident predictably upset various social media users, though some expressed doubt that fans of PewDiePie had carried out the deed.

Just saw a news story that @pewdiepie fans have vandalised a World War 2 memorial just to try to get him subscribers on YouTube…

Since he has 88 million subscribers already, and has said to only use legal forms of promotion…

How about he pays to have the memorial restored? pic.twitter.com/U2lTqLCVtQ

— 🔫♀️ (@GunGirlLive) 9 марта 2019 г.

Hey @pewdiepie do you think you could tell the fan that is repeatedly defacing the WWII memorial in Brooklyn to stop? Or have you already?

— Jim Pickens (@shitlord500) 6 марта 2019 г.

I agree with you but it is worth remembering that just because the article says "PewDiePie fans vandalised" doesn't actually mean it was his fans. It may well have been his recruits, but anyone with a multitude of possible motivations can spraypaint a war memorial.

— Aaron (@NrthCardigan) 8 марта 2019 г.