Exposing footage shows how money-making jungle survival videos are faked – leaving a trail of destruction and scarred landscapes.
Asian men’s whimsical style of building extraordinary structures in the jungle has garnered billions of views on YouTube – and earned the channels huge sums of money.
However, aerial drone footage of Siem Reap in Cambodia has captured large teams of construction workers working on projects. Dog houses, swimming pools, and slides are left on the ground, after demolition, to rot with stagnant water and plastic bags strewn over abandoned construction sites – a threat to local wildlife.
The photo shows little boys with cameras receiving awards from YouTube, which is owned by Google’s parent company Alphabet.
Some viewers have also complained that the video was racist by promoting instances of forest development residents scraping huts with their hands.
Overview
In a country where deforestation is among the worst in the world, environmentalists believe the video accelerates habitat degradation and creates dangerous conditions for wildlife.
Cameramen working on the canal showed at least eight construction workers working on the project, using modern equipment such as excavators, power generators, and electric saws.
He said: “It’s a big operation with a big team behind it.” It depends on the scope of the project, but up to a dozen people will work on it.
“As far as I know, most of the actual construction is done by a dedicated team of specialist construction workers using only household tools to remove dirt and dump it elsewhere.” A skid steer loader is used for the initial drilling process while we slowly film the construction workers as they complete the hole.
“The really fun part of the video is when you see them “fetching” water from a spectacular waterfall or lake. Water is only available in solid containers that are carried there.
Are primitive jungle survival skills real or fake?
Shocking footage from expats living in the country shows the chaos left by the teams behind YouTube channels. He said it had destroyed the fields and it would take many years for nature to reclaim them.
The most dangerous evidence is that the video is fake to deceive the viewers. Leftover bags of cement can be seen in the video – “Udi’s cement,” or soil collected from the river, as the finished video claims.
The swimming pools, which draw water from a stream six miles away, are filled with water pumped from wells.
Home Depot’s blue PVC pipes are also hidden inside bamboo pipes that manufacturers claim are primitive “jungle pipes”.
Highlights
Keen-eyed observers have also seen spray paint marks on the ground and excavation marks on the surface, contradicting claims that the paint is made naturally from crushed leaves and berries.
Clean cuts on wood indicate the use of an electric circular saw and are not naturally cut with a knife.
Environmentalists fear that deforestation will increase in Cambodia in the coming years as China-funded rapid economic development clears forests for agriculture and real estate.
Amnesty International claims that Cambodia has experienced the highest rate of deforestation in the world, with around 64 percent of its tree cover lost since 2011.
Amnesty International’s Emergencies and Environment Director Richard Pierhouse said: “Large-scale illegal logging in Cambodia threatens the survival of the country’s remaining primary forests and the local people who depend on them for their livelihoods, culture and spiritual practices. For more reviews like this visit Examviews.
