Karl Jacobs arrest hoax goes viral after TikToker admits “inside joke” went too far

A viral TikTok video claiming YouTuber and MrBeast collaborator Karl Jacobs had been arrested sparked genuine concern, but the TikToker has since admitted it was false, calling it an “inside joke.”

TikTok user zachxposts, also known as ‘Zach news king’, posted a video on November 1, in which he reported, “Karl from MrBeast has just been arrested and taken into the county jail.”

He explained that the arrest was due to leaked group chat logs from MrBeast’s crew, which were shared publicly at the end of October.

The video racked up over 4 million views, with the TikToker’s deadpan delivery convincing many that the report was true. “I’m confused what did he do?” one viewer asked. “How was Karl arrested but not Chris?” another asked.

The false claim was then covered by some news outlets based in India, with titles such as “MrBeast’s collaborator Karl Jacobs reportedly arrested.” Of course, there are no arrest records to verify this, as it was entirely made up by the TikTok creator.

Zachxposts went on to make more TikToks, also claiming that another MrBeast collaborator, Chandler, had been arrested. His page is in fact full of these types of videos, with other false claims including rapper Lil Durk “passing away in his cell” and “Asmongold has tragically passed away.”

In an update video on November 3, zachxposts reacted to the news articles reporting on his claim, calling it, “mad funny.”

“I’m dead. The inside joke went too far chat. That is awesome. Obviously he wasn’t arrested, but I looked up his name this morning and all these [news articles] came up. I’m like, oh my god bro.”

There is no truth to the claims that Karl Jacobs, Chandler, or anyone associated with MrBeast has been arrested or even contacted by authorities regarding the leaked group chat.

On November 1, MrBeast published the results of an internal investigation into his company, and promised big changes. These include hiring a new CEO, CPO, CFO and General Counsel, as well as terminating an undisclosed number of employees.

The investigation was launched after allegations of inappropriate behavior from another of MrBeast’s closest collaborators, Ava Kris Tyson. MrBeast has since cut ties with Tyson.