Travel blogger received terrifying call warning him to take down video featuring man who was taken captive
A travel YouTuber was left horrified after discovering that a man who featured in one of his videos was held captive in Brazil.
Callum Abroad is the ultimate travel enthusiast, after he found himself feeling ‘restless’ during the pandemic.
After spending lots of time indoors, Callum decided to explore and has now visited more than 20 countries in the past few years.
All of his vacations have left with a number of stories—some of them are very concerning.
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One of the nations Callum traveled to is Brazil, known for its vibrant Carnival culture, beaches, love of soccer, and delicious food.
Although Callum’s experience in the South American country was not ideal.
Speaking of when he arrived at one of Brazil’s notorious favelas, Callum told UNILAD: “I went to one favela in Brazil, and it was very hostile, very, very hostile. [They said] get the camera down."
Favela is a term commonly used in Brazil to describe informal urban communities, many of which have historically developed in areas with limited access to formal housing and infrastructure.
More than 16 million people live in favelas and urban communities in Brazil, representing around eight percent of the country's total population.
People living in favelas often face crime and gang activity but they are also cultural hubs and experience vary between communities. Essentially every favela has its own strict, highly enforced set of unwritten rules.
Callum continued: “We eventually spoke to some people who were in charge of the favela and I said, ‘Look, I'm not gonna video any of the drugs on the table or any of that stuff, I’ll blur faces, can I make the video?’”
Well, the leader agreed to Callum’s request, so the YouTuber made the video, uploaded it to his channel, and thought nothing else of it.
However, he received a concerning text message from a certain individual in Brazil.
“It was only a few months ago, I received a text message saying, ‘Callum, please call me’."
He was asked to take down his video immediately.
The anonymous caller explained how they were 'holding someone who's in the video, and it was all down to the video'.
According to Callum, the caller continued: “If you don't delete the video, then this person is gonna get harmed.”
Speaking of how he felt at that moment, Callum told UNILAD: “I was shocked because I made the video about seven months ago.
“That specific favela, they were not happy.”
With an individual’s welfare at risk, Callum, of course, removed the video and even sent screenshots to the gangs as proof you could no longer watch it on YouTube.
The caller thanked Callum for pulling the plug on the video, and that was the last Callum ever heard of the situation.
"I was a little bit surprised because they did give me the go-ahead initially,” Callum added.
The travel blogger never heard from the man again, neither did he know him in the first place.
It's not all bad travelling the world though, with Callum having some amazing experiences in recent years, most of which he documents on his YouTube vlog.
Topics: Travel, YouTube, Social Media
Callum Jones