For those of you who are just now hearing about Adam Saleh, allow us to introduce you to the man. As a jovial and extremely creative prankster, Adam has an incredible following online and is well liked within most social media circles.
Perhaps what he is best known for is his YouTube Channel that has well over 2.3 million subscribers as evidenced in the image below:
Image taken on December 22, 2016
Controversy surrounding Adam Saleh
Given his popularity online, it is inevitable that Adam Saleh will have some controversies surrounding his brand. In this article, we are going to highlight two in particular:
- His being thrown out of a Delta Flight recently.
- Whether or not he has bought YouTube subscribers and if so, why he would do that?
The first one, his Delta Flight saga, is the cause of all this commotion online and why his name is trending on Twitter with the hashtag #Boycottdelta.
The second has to do with the fact that he has so many YouTube channel subscribers despite not being an A-list pop superstar and why his videos gets so many views in such a short while after being uploaded online.
We are going to highlight both matters and try to answer the question, ‘Did Adam Saleh buy YouTube subscribers? But first, the Delta Flight Saga!
YouTube prankster Adam Saleh removed from Delta Flight
This is a video of Adam raising issue with Delta for kicking him off the flight for speaking a different language:
Adam, who sparked a raging tweet-storm, claims that he was removed from Delta Flight 1, along with a friend, for speaking Arabic. He says that this action was taken after other passengers complained to the flight attendants and that he was just on the phone with his mother.
Adam took to twitter saying this:
We got kicked out of a @Delta airplane because I spoke Arabic to my mom on the phone and with my friend slim… WTFFFFFFFF please spread pic.twitter.com/P5dQCE0qos
— Adam Saleh (@omgAdamSaleh) December 21, 2016
These claims, however, have been disputed by Delta who said, according to statements taken from the passengers as well as flight attendants, Adam and his friend were removed from the plane because they were deliberately provoking a confrontation. Here is an official statement from Delta:
Image taken on December 22, 2016
Adam’s saga evoked a flurry of responses from the Twitterverse with some people rebuking racism on planes:
Muslim Community is still united, & the way they supported #adamsaleh today is just brilliant, its the time to change, together we united 👍
— Ihtisham ul Haq (@iihtishamm) December 21, 2016
While others called him out for being a perpetual alarmist and prankster who ‘gets kicked off planes’:
Skepticism & critical thinking died with the advent of social media. Thank you @omgAdamSaleh for heaping more soil on its grave. #AdamSaleh pic.twitter.com/BTr7iClXfF
— Andy Ngo (@MrAndyNgo) December 22, 2016
Did Adam Saleh orchestrate his Delta Flight debacle by deliberately provoking the passengers or was he actually a victim of a racist community? We will let you decide that part.
Now onto whether or not he bought YouTube subscribers.
Did Adam Saleh buy YouTube Subscribers?
This is a question that we have tackled extensively with different social media celebrities as the subject of our discussion. Every time, we give you an insight on why the controversy came about and try to get definitive proof either for or against the argument. This time, it is Adam Saleh’s turn. Did he buy YouTube subscribers and if so, why would he?
Check this video out:
That is the sort of thing that Adam is well known for online. He is an entertainer of the ‘prankster’ variety. He is also a rapper and a vlogger. That video alone has over 33 million views.
This is a screen grab of other videos on Adam’s Channel:
Image taken on December 22, 2016
As you can see, they all get hundreds of thousands of views, even just a few hours after being uploaded. Clearly, Adam’s antics are popular with his channel subscribers and other YouTubers.
So popular, in fact, that his income from this channel is estimated at around $3,000 a day ($1.1 million a year). That is not chump change.
Did he buy subscribers?
With all that success online, it is no wonder people are wondering if he bought his YouTube subscribers. You certainly wouldn’t put it past him, being a prankster and all. What if this is all a big ruse? But, of course, that is not a valid argument.
However, you certainly wouldn’t put it past YouTube bigwigs such as Adam Saleh to buy a few YouTube subscribers just to get things rolling. It is definitely easy enough to do:
Image taken on December 22, 2016
And anyone can do it too. As you see from that image, all you need is the YouTube channel link and money to pay for it.
Which brings into sharp focus the question of if there were any YouTube subscribers bought for Adam Saleh’s channel, did he do it himself, or did any one of his 2 million plus subscribers (and we can safely say ‘fans’) do it for him?
Evidence proving whether Adam Saleh bought subscribers
It is quite possible that this question of whether Adam bought his YouTube subscribers or not might never be definitely answered. But we promised you answers, so in an attempt to deliver just that, we will look at some of the telltale signs of accounts that have bought subscribers and compare that information with Adam’s channel.
Channels that have fake subscribers and views have the following telltale signs:
High subscriber count with minimal views
Most people who buy YouTube subscribers tend to forget to buy other additional services such as views. You will therefore often find channels with many subscribers that have almost no video views. Looking at Adam’s channel, as evidenced by our previous image, you can see that his videos get hundreds of thousands of views within a matter of hours. So, he passes that test. But that doesn’t mean that he still wasn’t smart enough to buy both subscribers and views.
High subscriber count with minimal engagement
When we talk of engagement, we talk about things like, likes, dislikes, and comments. These numbers should, at the very least, reflect the number of subscribers as well as views.
Clearly, Adam passes this test with flying colors:
Image taken on December 22, 2016
So, no incriminating evidence there.
High subscriber count with very few comments
This is yet another excellent indicator of viewer engagement with their social media figure of choice. If anyone has millions of subscribers on YouTube and almost no comments on any of their videos, then you may know that those subscribers are either bought, or that YouTuber just doesn’t connect with his/her audience as well as they should.
Again, Adam clearly has this in the bag:
Image taken on December 22, 2016
With over 457K views, 30K likes, 4K dislikes and 8K comments. This prankster is clearly very well connected and engaged with this audience.
This, however, does not expressly disprove that he did not buy a few hundred thousand subscribers just to get things going. But let us not nit-pick.
Instead, let’s look at why, if at all he did, he would buy YouTube subscribers. In fact, let us look at why anyone would want to buy YouTube subscribers at all.
Why would Adam Saleh buy YouTube subscribers?
As we mentioned earlier, it is very unlikely that we will ever know whether or not Adam Saleh bought YouTube subscribers. But just in case he did, here are some reasons why he would want to do that:
- Social proof: This is the be-all-end-all of social media personalities. If you command a huge following online, then it gives you credibility and validity as a social media sensation. The only way to cement your reputation is to have social proof of it. And we are talking on multiple platforms. Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and every other social media platform that your audience frequents.
- Social influence: Social influencers are people who’s opinions matter online. These are people who command a great following and can use that influence to mold public and societal views. People like Adam have a following that listens to what they say. That is why he can earn up to $3,000 a day from his views and create a tweet-storm about brands such as Delta kicking him off their flight. With this sort of influence, you can make or break a brand.
- Reach and brand stability: Ultimately, the one reason why social media celebrities do what they do online is to establish their brand, reach as many people as possible and make money online. Buying a few hundred thousand views to get things going will encourage other (more legitimate) subscribers to join the fray and increase your numbers. This ultimately gives you the kind of reach you need, the brand stability that you crave and if you are any good at what you do, the money that comes with it.
Adam’s Twitter has over 341K followers:
Image taken on December 22, 2016
This is evidence of real social proof and ratification that he is a social media celebrity in his own right.
Adam Saleh and bought YouTube subscribers
Whether Adam Saleh bought his YouTube subscribers or not is irrelevant at this point. The 22 year old is a star in his own right now and commands a loyal, albeit fickle, following online. He is clearly a social influencer of sorts, judging from his latest escapade that has thrust Delta into the limelight. This is now something that people will be talking about for a while and PR damage that Delta will have to deal with until Adam moves on to the next one.
That, people, is the power of social media. With a sizeable following, you can mold yourself into a force with which people must reckon. Whether you do that by buying YouTube subscribers or not is no one’s business but your own. As long as it broadens your reach, establishes the much needed social proof and get you those views, go forth and buy those YouTube subscribers.
Date: December 22, 2016 / Categories: Uncategorized, YouTube, / Author: Rich Drees
