Harley Young
Since platforms like YouTube and, more recently, TikTok have been the way forward to secure online success with viral videos, absurd stunts and extremely dangerous acts have been in abundance.
All in the name of fame, this desire for internet stardom and power is commonly referred to as 'clout' amongst the younger online generation.
The humble prank has gotten out of hand, with people putting their lives on the line just to grow their audiences.
One live-streamer recently almost got himself shot by fake pouring gasoline on other people's vehicles.
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The video has been circulating on Reddit and Twitter and shows the streamer walking through a parking lot with a jerry can, pouring the liquid presumed to be gasoline onto vehicles he passes.
Unbeknownst to the innocent owners of the vehicles, the liquid inside the gas can is just water, however, it's only when a man armed with a gun confronted the live streamer that the prankster had to blow his cover to save his life.
The video starts with the streamer telling someone parked up in their vehicle that he was 'burning their car down'. If that wasn't enough, the streamer prompts the owner to get out and confront them all in the name of 'content'.
The streamer tries to provoke the driver, saying: "F**k your car, man. It's over."
After a short while, he let the man know it was just a prank, but when he tried to pull the same stunt with an elderly man, he received a response he wasn't expecting.
The elderly man pulled a gun on the prankster, leading the streamer to quickly confess that the liquid inside was just water. However, the pair got into a bit of a stand-off.
“It better be water, partner. Or you’re one dead son of a b*tch,” the elderly man warns, adding “You stay out of this. I don’t want to do that. You almost died, you stupid son of a b*tch.”
Despite the threat he had just received, the streamer had the nerve to call the elderly man a 'p*ssy', presumably as a shaken response to what had happened.
The video then cuts off. It's unclear as to what happened after as the clip was re-shared on Reddit and the whereabouts of the full original clip is unknown.
This isn't the first time someone has tried to find internet fame through wreckless acts either. In fact, there's whole compilations of 'pranks gone wrong' on YouTube that show foolish attempts that have backfired.