"We're going viral!!!"

August 16, 2015 5:11 PM

Sam and Nia, are the YouTube "stars" whose pregnancy announcement reached the national news in the US. But they are just the tip of the "family vlogging" iceberg.
posted by chainsofreedom (111 comments total)

And then their apparent miscarriage. Doctors doubt they were pregnant.

This whole thing makes me feel bad. I feel bad for suspecting they're faking it. But Sam claimed to have quit his job to be famous (apparently what he always wanted to do) but his employer said he hadn't done so.

It's all so weird. I hope they aren't faking it. It's not my place to doubt them because there's no way to prove it. It's just all so weird.
posted by discopolo at 5:28 PM on August 16, 2015 [1 favorite]

And maybe more significantly they are part of the Christian vloggers subculture, where pregnancies mean views.

Babies are a gift from god, these vloggers will tell you, and they are also the most surefire way to rack up views and subscribers on YouTube. — Gawker

And then there's the question: Was the announcement and the subsequent miscarriage announcement real?

There is, first of all, the highly condensed timeline. Then, there’s the couple’s admission that they never saw a doctor about the pregnancy or the miscarriage (“I’m a nurse so I know the signs of a miscarriage,” Sam told People); their tendency to talk about their unborn child in terms of views and social media engagement and Sam’s announcement, directly after the videos went viral, that he quit his job due to the success of their YouTube channel. — Gawker

posted by ArmandoAkimbo at 5:29 PM on August 16, 2015 [5 favorites]

And then their apparent miscarriage. Doctors doubt they were pregnant.

10M views

Assuming they're at the useless 30c/view part of the spectrum they're pulling in $3,000 for that little stunt if it's true. So it's basically pure profit to pull it.
posted by Talez at 5:36 PM on August 16, 2015 [1 favorite]

It's a shame. Their "Frozen" video was charming even if she wasn't wearing a seatbelt.
posted by reiichiroh at 5:48 PM on August 16, 2015 [4 favorites]

I really, really hate the idea that these people possibly trolled millions of people for religious reasons, and used a fake miscarriage to do it.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 5:52 PM on August 16, 2015 [8 favorites]

Oh god, I really don't want to discover this corner of the internet. Ignorance is bliss.
posted by naju at 5:56 PM on August 16, 2015 [26 favorites]

If you're going to troll people with a scam for fame and fortune, at least be creative about it. (I don't know whether Sam and Nia are scamming or not.)
posted by andoatnp at 5:59 PM on August 16, 2015 [2 favorites]

I'm amazed that anyone thought it wasn't fake from the start. I don't say this to be snarky or smug; I really don't understand how anyone can see a "viral sensation" like this in 2015 and not immediately assume it's staged at the very least.
posted by aaronetc at 5:59 PM on August 16, 2015 [3 favorites]

We're pretty much immersed in a Balloon Boy Culture at this point. That family was ahead of their time.
posted by naju at 6:00 PM on August 16, 2015 [29 favorites]

Save me from evangelical shitbirds.
posted by Sassenach at 6:01 PM on August 16, 2015 [11 favorites]

FTR, I assumed the first video was staged and by the second one was like, yeah, that didn't happen.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:01 PM on August 16, 2015

> And maybe more significantly they are part of the Christian vloggers subculture, where pregnancies mean views.

Thanks, I was about to post that Gawker link as an FPP but saw this. I think it's is a really significant part of this story.
posted by Room 641-A at 6:04 PM on August 16, 2015 [4 favorites]

This story just makes me want to wash my hands until they're raw and apologize to somebody. Anybody. I am so vicariously mortified for these people that it's making me a little short of breath.
posted by murphy slaw at 6:23 PM on August 16, 2015 [2 favorites]

This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
posted by johnnydummkopf at 6:24 PM on August 16, 2015 [2 favorites]

I just feel awful for those kids. One day, if not already, those kids are going to have minds and plans of their own which will most likely not include being known for the first time they were stung by a wasp in front of the whole internet.
posted by chainsofreedom at 6:28 PM on August 16, 2015 [3 favorites]

So what's worse, the fact these people did what they did or the fact there's a culture desperate to gobble this stuff up?
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 6:30 PM on August 16, 2015 [5 favorites]

God, bless the children and curse the parents by casting this family into mundane, nonviral, commonplace obscurity until the end of their days, amen.
posted by prize bull octorok at 6:31 PM on August 16, 2015 [9 favorites]

This just seems gross from beginning to end. The only real question to me is whether it is a straightforward scam or a manifestation of mental illness (or a combination of both), but either way it is just gross and I wish they had never been able to get the attention and exposure.
posted by Dip Flash at 6:31 PM on August 16, 2015

These are horrible people, even if they were pregnant.

Which they were not.
posted by IAmBroom at 6:33 PM on August 16, 2015 [3 favorites]

Doctors doubt they were pregnant.
These are horrible people, even if they were pregnant.

I'm pretty sure that at least one of them wasn't.
posted by Horace Rumpole at 6:48 PM on August 16, 2015 [21 favorites]

Oh god, the one at the top of the top 10 list is run by an energetic father who uses -tard earnestly.
posted by johnnydummkopf at 6:49 PM on August 16, 2015 [1 favorite]

murphy slaw: "I am so vicariously mortified for these people"

FREMDSCHAM
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 6:49 PM on August 16, 2015 [10 favorites]

Somehow we've tapped into a Channel 5 feed from 40,000 (or was it 400,000?) years into the future. If you snap your fingers, metal implant thingys will poke out of their foreheads.
posted by Brocktoon at 6:49 PM on August 16, 2015

It has something to do with a unitard, not the r-word.
posted by Small Dollar at 6:51 PM on August 16, 2015

But that still doesn't mean they should use that suffix.
posted by Small Dollar at 6:53 PM on August 16, 2015 [1 favorite]

On top of all the really morally dubious aspects of this shit, it also seems super fucking boring. I mean, I couldn't be much farther away from the intended audience, but...hundreds of thousands of views for a video where two dull-ass people talk about how they *think* they *might* want to have another baby?
posted by The Card Cheat at 6:58 PM on August 16, 2015 [12 favorites]

I think the logical conclusion of this, unboxing videos, and ASMR stuff is a channel made up completely of some guy languidly staring into a camera for hours at a time.

I wonder how much money I could make doing that.
posted by backseatpilot at 7:03 PM on August 16, 2015 [1 favorite]

There was a post about this on GOMI, and somebody who is pregnant volunteered to run a pregnancy test with her urine from the toilet to see if it would come out positive. And it did! So apparently that is possible.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 7:21 PM on August 16, 2015 [2 favorites]

These. These are the worst people on Earth.

And their show on TLC is a mortal lock.
posted by T.D. Strange at 7:21 PM on August 16, 2015 [3 favorites]

I'd much rather watch the TLC show about this family. Make it happen, internet!
posted by You Should See the Other Guy at 7:29 PM on August 16, 2015 [17 favorites]

A culture where pregnancies mean views? Seriously? Most stuff I'm not interested in, like gaming, I can at least fathom why other people are into it. Stuff like this (and the Duggars, and Jon and Kate et al.) just serves to remind me that there's an entire culture out there that is truly, utterly, completely beyond my ken and always will be, no matter how hard I try to comprehend it.
posted by holborne at 7:38 PM on August 16, 2015 [5 favorites]

The title of their first video was "Good Looking Parents Sing Disney’s Frozen," really? That's enough to put someone off his feed. Arrogant smugs.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 8:22 PM on August 16, 2015 [6 favorites]

i find him incredibly unsettling. i hope they were faking the pregnancy because i am utterly grossed out that he'd for real use his wife's shocked reaction at her own pregnancy for views. he really comes off like a controlling asshole in that video.
posted by nadawi at 8:43 PM on August 16, 2015 [9 favorites]

"Kiss that little wasp and it will be your magical friend..."
posted by Windopaene at 8:47 PM on August 16, 2015 [2 favorites]

I have a pretty well developed ability for reading micro-expressions. I'm confident they're both being disingenuous; both their faces are saying very different things than their words.
posted by scalefree at 9:11 PM on August 16, 2015 [5 favorites]

to be fair - that was my experience growing up in a super devout home - everything from everyone felt disingenuous and words didn't seem to match reactions.
posted by nadawi at 9:14 PM on August 16, 2015 [21 favorites]

I'm talking about stuff like when he shouts because the test is positive & when they're both crying over the miscarriage. Broad emotions but their micro-expressions are giving off very different signals than their macros. I'm pretty confident it's all staged.
posted by scalefree at 9:34 PM on August 16, 2015 [1 favorite]

Down the rabbit hole: Youtube Mama Drama forum. It's got a professional white background with a vaguely familiar blue theme going on. And no signatures. And it's really about the drama and gossip so you've been warned - there are thousands of post following some very tragic you tube over-sharers.
posted by zenon at 9:36 PM on August 16, 2015

The toilet pregnancy test is really disgusting. What a disgusting human. Garbage people, really. Hope the kids are okay.
posted by kittensofthenight at 9:45 PM on August 16, 2015

I only saw the first "surprise pregnancy" video, but I have a pretty finely honed Bad Acting Detector and it was painfully obvious that they (and their kids) were acting out a script.

They're terrible people if they faked the pregnancy, and even more terrible if they didn't. Who talks post-miscarriage about how many page views their little baby gave them, and spends the next day trying to score free Legoland tickets?

Absolutely gross.
posted by mmoncur at 9:53 PM on August 16, 2015 [4 favorites]

P. sure if all the vloggers lived in a single walled city-state Yahweh would do us a solid and destroy it with burning hail like in old times
posted by prize bull octorok at 10:06 PM on August 16, 2015 [6 favorites]

Maybe it's art. Like Piss Christ.
posted by five fresh fish at 10:24 PM on August 16, 2015 [17 favorites]

I think the logical conclusion of this, unboxing videos, and ASMR stuff is a channel made up completely of some guy languidly staring into a camera for hours at a time.

It's already here and it's called chaturbate. (NSFW)
posted by fullerine at 10:56 PM on August 16, 2015 [2 favorites]

Shay Butler (the "zany" dad of the Shaytards) is one of the co-founders of Maker Studios, a network of various YouTube channels. Last year the Walt Disney Corporation purchased Maker Studios for 500 million dollars.

So, yeah, young families are seeing big dollar signs in their children's eyes. It's not surprising that some of them would lie to get more views. More views means more money.

It's gross and getting grosser.
posted by bstreep at 12:25 AM on August 17, 2015 [1 favorite]

Sure, "planned to fake a pregnancy and miscarriage for Youtube hits" is pretty goddamn grotesque, but the weird thing is it is only slightly worse than the alternative, "stole your wife's toilet pee so that you could surprise-pregnancy test her on camera"

So. There's that.
posted by kagredon at 12:53 AM on August 17, 2015 [9 favorites]

These people are homophobic grifters.
They make me sick.

http://wonkette.com/592895/good-christian-fame-whores-probably-liars-too
posted by james33 at 2:58 AM on August 17, 2015 [1 favorite]

I think he's ultra creepy and a terrible over actor but to drag their kids into this and let them think they're getting a new sibling? Disgusting. I really wish I hadn't clicked on any of it, the last thing these people need to be rewarded with is more hits.
posted by Jubey at 3:05 AM on August 17, 2015 [1 favorite]

this is why I only use youtube for music, copyright violation material, owl videos, and run the fuck away from yt celeb videos.
posted by lmfsilva at 3:09 AM on August 17, 2015 [5 favorites]

I think he's ultra creepy and a terrible over actor but to drag their kids into this and let them think they're getting a new sibling? Disgusting. I really wish I hadn't clicked on any of it, the last thing these people need to be rewarded with is more hits.

I 100% agree. I'm fascinated by the phenomenon, but I only linked to the Slate piece on purpose. Wish they hadn't peppered their story with links to every one of their videos, to be honest...
posted by chainsofreedom at 4:03 AM on August 17, 2015 [1 favorite]

chainsofreedom: "Sam and Nia, are the YouTube "stars""

I don't get the quotes around "stars". They made a video with almost 21 million views. How are they not stars? That's about as many people as those who saw "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol" in the US.
Are the quotes there because it's Youtube?
posted by signal at 6:14 AM on August 17, 2015

The fact that "family vlogging" is even a thing is so disturbing to me. Its like the old days when you were at a party and somebody took out a super 8 projector and said "who wants to watch home movies?" Except everyone yells "oh boy!" instead of getting really uncomfortable.
posted by I_Zimbra at 6:33 AM on August 17, 2015 [6 favorites]

Are the quotes there because it's Youtube?

I don't think so. I think it's because wtf is a YouTube star to begin with, and one popular video does not make you interesting for more than a few days.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 7:24 AM on August 17, 2015 [4 favorites]

Also, celebrity "worth" for what it's worth is in large part based on how much personal investment it takes the audience to get to you and how much that is driven by your presence in it. Somebody is a bigger star if you go to see their movie or actively seek out their television show or whatever art. Clicking on a link somebody sent you about a (faked) pregnancy reveal isn't really about this Christian homophobic grifters; it's about the trick.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 7:32 AM on August 17, 2015

there are a fuck ton of stars on youtube who are bringing in consistent numbers over a period of years - some have even moved to more traditional media. lots of people are living very good lives based upon vlogging. as much as we're disgusted by this family, they were certainly on their way to that even if you take out faked pregnancy.
posted by nadawi at 7:41 AM on August 17, 2015

As an officially old person who doesn't social media, can somebody explain how they make money? I know that's a dumb question, but I don't even have a sense of what's possible in terms of remuneration and how that happens. Is google/youtube cutting them a check? How much money can a person make that way? Is advertising the underlying source of funding?
posted by werkzeuger at 7:41 AM on August 17, 2015

I think it's because wtf is a YouTube star to begin with

My 14-year-old daughter forced me to watch the Teen Choice Awards last night, and there was a whole category for Best Social Media Star (one award for male, one for female). The male award went to a guy who posts videos on Vine, and the female award went to Bethany Mota, who makes half-a-millon dollars a year from her various promotions and tie-ins. I think the concept of YouTube star is pretty well established at this point.
posted by briank at 7:41 AM on August 17, 2015 [4 favorites]

you get a check from youtube, yes, but you can also work out your own advertising and tie ins. some people join networks that do all the advertising finding and placing for you. here's a run down of some of the people making money (which isn't even focused on the huge known earners).
posted by nadawi at 7:47 AM on August 17, 2015 [1 favorite]

there are a fuck ton of stars on youtube who are bringing in consistent numbers over a period of years - some have even moved to more traditional media. lots of people are living very good lives based upon vlogging.

That doesn't fit my definition of star. George Clooney is a star. Some rando Christian couple with millions of Christian followers is not.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 7:51 AM on August 17, 2015 [1 favorite]

Thanks nadawi, I hit up that link and I kind of get it now.

I also think we, as a species, are doomed.
posted by werkzeuger at 7:52 AM on August 17, 2015 [1 favorite]

Bethany Mota is a millionaire but not a star. Like, 99% of the world has no idea who that is, nor does she do anything to affect humanity.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 7:53 AM on August 17, 2015 [1 favorite]

you might just have an incredibly limited idiosyncratic definition of star. the people who were on the tv show "the hills" were (and in many cases still are) stars. they aren't george clooney, but very few people rise to that level. just because you don't know who these youtube personalities are, doesn't mean they're unknown.
posted by nadawi at 7:56 AM on August 17, 2015 [5 favorites]

Bethany Mota is a millionaire but not a star. Like, 99% of the world has no idea who that is, nor does she do anything to affect humanity.

I don't think that's even remotely true based on all the screaming teenagers I saw on TV last night.
posted by briank at 7:57 AM on August 17, 2015 [3 favorites]

the people who were on the tv show "the hills" were (and in many cases still are) stars

Not in my world, thank goodness.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 7:58 AM on August 17, 2015 [1 favorite]

roomthreeseventeen: "That doesn't fit my definition of star. George Clooney is a star. Some rando Christian couple with millions of Christian followers is not."

Flashback 100 years: That doesn't fit my definition of star. [Some turn of the century theater actor] is a star. Some rando moving picture actor seen by millions is not.
posted by signal at 8:10 AM on August 17, 2015 [9 favorites]

I think the concept of YouTube star is pretty well established at this point.

Yeah, the other day at Union Square here in NYC, it was raining hard, and I noticed a massive line of people stretching all the way around the block waiting to get into Sephora. I couldn't imagine why, so I asked someone; turned out they were all standing out in the pouring rain waiting to meet a YouTube makeup guru. Yet another thing beyond my ken.
posted by holborne at 8:30 AM on August 17, 2015

> Yet another thing beyond my ken.

A friend of mine works in television production and a little while ago he was trying to explain to some older executives what "unboxing" videos were. So they watched a couple, and whatever they were they had hundreds of thousands of views, and the old dudes were like "Thank God we're all retiring soon."
posted by The Card Cheat at 8:57 AM on August 17, 2015 [4 favorites]

For the record regarding my earlier comment, and not just because I don't want to seem even more out of touch than I probably am, I don't think these people are stars, but I personally do think there is such a thing as a YouTube star, no scare quotes, even if I don't know who most of them are.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 9:13 AM on August 17, 2015 [2 favorites]

As an officially old person who doesn't social media, can somebody explain how they make money?

Gawker: The Shaytards are a Mormon family of seven from Idaho who post daily vlogs about their suburban activities with vague, exclamatory titles like “CHEERLEADING MOM!”, “BRIBING CHILDREN”, and “YOU BETTER STOP THAT!” Shay estimates their channel brings in $771,ooo per year.

In an interview with Variety last month, Shay described the family’s “content strategy” thusly:

I believe intrinsically family is our greatest source of happiness. My wife is prettier than most moms, and I’m probably funnier than most dads—that helps—but ultimately, it’s the family. What viewers really want to see is my wife and kids together. We get happiness from families, because people need that hope.

[...]

Buzzfeed notes that Sam and Nia are likely now making $9.60 per thousand non-skippable ad views, “which could easily lead to a six-figure salary for the channel if they can maintain even just a fraction of their recent numbers.”
posted by Room 641-A at 10:08 AM on August 17, 2015

A friend of mine works in television production and a little while ago he was trying to explain to some older executives what "unboxing" videos were. So they watched a couple, and whatever they were they had hundreds of thousands of views, and the old dudes were like "Thank God we're all retiring soon."

I recently discovered the world of unboxing videos and how useful they are when trying to make a purchase decision. They're super useful if you're looking for some sort of exact thing and the online specs aren't clear enough to make a determination. Also seeing a piece of electronics or techie thing in action has helped with making a choice. Most of things I've looked at I can't physically access without driving for a couple of hours so seeing someone else physically do a lot of things I would do if I could have in my hands on it is the next best thing.
posted by Jalliah at 10:08 AM on August 17, 2015 [1 favorite]

Gawker: The Shaytards are a Mormon family of seven from Idaho who post daily vlogs about their suburban activities with vague, exclamatory titles like “CHEERLEADING MOM!”, “BRIBING CHILDREN”, and “YOU BETTER STOP THAT!” Shay estimates their channel brings in $771,ooo per year.

See, this sounds just utterly bizarre to me, that people would want to watch that at all, much less to the tune of three-quarters of a million dollars a year. Why would you want to watch people doing the same mundane day-to-day family things that you probably do yourself a hundred times a year? "You Better Stop That!"? It sounds to me like a Roz Chast parody, only it's apparently serious. It's like an even more boring version of reality TV (which I confess I also don't get.)
posted by holborne at 10:25 AM on August 17, 2015 [1 favorite]

I'm pretty sure that whatever the best definition of "star" is, it includes being able to get into Legoland.
posted by ActingTheGoat at 10:38 AM on August 17, 2015 [13 favorites]

See, this sounds just utterly bizarre to me, that people would want to watch that at all

People want a chance to imagine what their life would be like if they had things that they'll never have. That they could never have.

For some venues, this means imagining fame, fortune, and glamorous sex partners. For other venues, imagining a happy home life. For still others, imagining eating decent food with another human being.
posted by aramaic at 10:48 AM on August 17, 2015 [2 favorites]

aramaic: "For still others, imagining eating decent food with another human being."

For still still others, imagining rubbing their hands on a velvety plastic surface.
posted by signal at 11:00 AM on August 17, 2015 [6 favorites]

the people who were on the tv show "the hills" were (and in many cases still are) stars

Not in my world, thank goodness.

relevant
posted by poffin boffin at 12:21 PM on August 17, 2015 [10 favorites]

Bethany Mota is a millionaire but not a star. Like, 99% of the world has no idea who that is, nor does she do anything to affect humanity.

I have a young cousin who's a huge Bethany Mota fan. She and her friends have waited for hours in line to see her at live appearances. You can work from whatever definition of 'star' you want, but at a certain point the world will leave you behind and you become that one guy who talks about how there have been no real movie stars since Humphrey Bogart and all we've had since then are generations of wanna-bees, while your grandchildren roll their eyes.
posted by Itaxpica at 12:37 PM on August 17, 2015 [9 favorites]

Not all family vlogging is boring and terrible: https://youtu.be/nFvvpUXNOII

#notallfamilyvloggers
posted by El Mariachi at 1:08 PM on August 17, 2015

For still still others, imagining Roy Orbison wrapped in cling film.
posted by kittensofthenight at 1:15 PM on August 17, 2015 [5 favorites]

What I don't get is why this is so distasteful to me but I'm fine with tutorial videos, makeup stars, Let's Plays and dog videos even though I personally don't care for them. I''m fine with Kim and Kanye too. Probably because of the christian angle.

"My wife is prettier than most moms, and I’m probably funnier than most dads..."
*rolls eyes*
posted by kittensofthenight at 1:25 PM on August 17, 2015 [2 favorites]

Christian Vlogger Couple Admits Pregnancy Was "Staged"...By God Himself
posted by Room 641-A at 2:37 PM on August 17, 2015 [4 favorites]

“Because I chose you, the world hates you.” God told us we’re going to be hated, so what we’re seeing right now is god’s will being played out for our lives as Christians. We’re being persecuted somewhat.

ok dude
posted by kagredon at 2:43 PM on August 17, 2015 [9 favorites]

ugh these people are so gross and awful.
posted by poffin boffin at 2:45 PM on August 17, 2015 [13 favorites]

The first commenter on that second Gawker article has put their finger on why this bothers me so much.

There’s something horrifying about the way American Christians declare “persecution” over YouTube first world vlogger fame problems when Christians in North Korea are in concentration camps.

Yeah. Exactly. Or as another commenter in that thread remarks, "....those Christian Nigerians being slaughtered by Boko Haram. They weren’t believe-y enough. (or just not white enough)."
posted by chainsofreedom at 2:46 PM on August 17, 2015 [4 favorites]

Hahaha, oh my, that dude just gets worse and worse. It's like he spends half of every second he's awake coming up with ways to make himself more terrible.

Because God Spoke To Me is my new explanation for everything I do.

God told me He wants me to drink this beer. Praise the Lord. I believe that He will tell me to eat some nachos soon.
posted by aramaic at 3:03 PM on August 17, 2015 [6 favorites]

Christian Vlogger Couple Admits Pregnancy Was "Staged"...By God Himself

I'll just be here whispering nope nope nope nope nope to myself as I go through this link. These people give me some sort of physical revulsion. So much fakery, attention-seeking, self-delusion, godly righteousness, and hiding your ugliness behind cute kid antics. There's something that feels wrong about their videos, like it's going to end up like a horror movie any second. Nope nope nope nope ...
posted by naju at 3:14 PM on August 17, 2015 [6 favorites]

Blech. Nasty.

And that's all the attention they're getting from me.
posted by MissySedai at 5:33 PM on August 17, 2015

I watched a few of their vlogs the other night. I don't think the pregnancy was faked, nor the announcement (although it was obviously staged by Sam).

The pregnancy announcement was the first video I watched, and I was kinda grossed out by it from the point of view of "ugh you crazy, over-energetic, super-controlling man, don't you think this is a discovery your wife might WANT to make herself, rather than having it sprung on her over breakfast?" However, after watching a couple more of their videos, it became clear that they had already been in agreement they wanted the pregnancy, and also that that is kind of how they typically interact (he's kinda over-active and she just laughs at him).

I mean what comes across as weird (to someone who is not anti-abortion as a matter of religious belief) is how they talk about the lost pregnancy as if it were a fully-formed baby, even assigning it a gender (though that could not even be known at six weeks). And also their conviction that this miscarriage was a gift from God to them to help amplify their Christian witness.

But both those beliefs are SO typical of SO many conservative evangelicals, it doesn't ring false to me at all. It feels like a foreign culture, but not something they are faking.

Miscarriages at that stage are so incredibly common, it's thought that in the majority of cases, the women who experience them never even know they had been pregnant. But for women who are looking for it (either because they really want a baby or they really don't!), it's very common to have a positive test and then lose the pregnancy a couple days later.

Seems far more likely this is what happened in this case than that they said, "Let's fake a pregnancy, get our other two little ones all excited (on camera!), and then miscarry two days later, and... profit!" Which really would be a horrible thing to do.
posted by torticat at 6:23 PM on August 17, 2015 [3 favorites]

For the purposes of posterity I wish it recorded that God did in fact instruct me to eat nachos, and I have just now fulfilled His Word by consuming a melted cheese product with substantial chile components.

Praise God, let His Word be known! The prophecies were made flesh in me!
posted by aramaic at 8:29 PM on August 17, 2015 [7 favorites]

Apply Prophecies Directly To Ass.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 9:49 PM on August 17, 2015 [5 favorites]

But for women who are looking for it (either because they really want a baby or they really don't!), it's very common to have a positive test and then lose the pregnancy a couple days later.

Yeah, but not very common to show up at Legoland the next day demanding free stuff.
posted by mmoncur at 4:09 AM on August 18, 2015

I don't think they demanded free tickets for Legoland, it seems like they just wanted to go to Legoland, but it was sold out, and then they hoped to be able to get in because of their "virality". Still a bit tacky, but not nearly as bad as the Buzzfeed article implied, and they did laugh it off. Seemed more like a "well, it's worth a try" last option of a parent who truly feels sorry for the disappointed children than anything nefarious to me.

I find it hard to believe the pregnancy was staged because how would they get the positive tests? It's not an old test because you see the line appear on the video. Would they have borrowed urine from a pregnant friend? Who would want to cooperate with something like that? Or is the idea that they edited the video to make a negative test look positive? Surely if that were the case some internet sleuths would have exposed that by now? I do hope the announcement was fake though, because if that was real it was truly a terrible way to tell your wife she is pregnant. I don't even hate the idea by itself, I think it could work for certain couples, but if you do that, you better make it truly special and not ha-ha tell her while she's busy making breakfast and in front of the children.
posted by blub at 4:36 AM on August 18, 2015 [1 favorite]

from reading around some people are saying that you can get a false positive from the dilution.
posted by nadawi at 7:15 AM on August 18, 2015

Christian Vlogger couple admits pregnancy was staged
posted by reiichiroh at 10:50 AM on August 18, 2015

Still a bit tacky, but not nearly as bad as the Buzzfeed article implied, and they did laugh it off.

Yeah I watched that because I couldn't really believe they tried to get free tickets like that, and the article really did misrepresent it. It was the wife's idea, and the husband actually said "I don't think that's right" and then did not VENT afterwards, but laughed because the employee hadn't seen their videos so the ploy didn't work. The "disappointed kids" was because the place was sold out and they hadn't been able to figure out a way to get in, not because they hadn't been able to get in for free.

I do hope the announcement was fake though, because if that was real it was truly a terrible way to tell your wife she is pregnant.

But it would have been much much WORSE to fake a pregnancy in front of the kids!!

nadawi--the clear implication at the end of the video was that they went and did a second, proper test to make sure. And it looked like they did because the second test had a stronger result.

I'd like to know who is saying dilution could give you a false positive. That runs contrary to everything I know of pregnancy tests. False negatives aren't infrequent, but false positives are very infrequent. (Which is not to say, as I mentioned above, that the pregnancy is viable--many many of them aren't, at that stage, and are flushed out with no one ever the wiser.) It's the level of hCG, which increases rapidly in early pregnancy, that determines the likelihood that you'll get a a positive response; so how would dilution make a false positive more likely?
posted by torticat at 10:58 AM on August 18, 2015

Apologies, don't mean to defend this couple so vehemently; it's just that I started out being kind of icked out by them and then came to see them as kind of weird but cute, living in a culture (TX) very different from where I live, obviously very much in love with their children; and it sucks to see them savaged the way they have been and in kind of lazy/disingenuous ways.

I think their views on gay people should be roundly attacked, and their opportunism questioned perhaps, but those are different matters from calling them liars or schemers or charlatans.
posted by torticat at 11:06 AM on August 18, 2015

well, for what it's worth, they don't live in a culture at all different from where i live and still find him to be an utter creep and hope they were faking it because then he's 1 notch less creeptastic. also, loving their kids is immediately cancelled out by your second paragraph - i'm sure members of the westboro baptist church love their kids, but they're doing untold damage to them.
posted by nadawi at 11:14 AM on August 18, 2015 [2 favorites]

and if it wasn't staged - the quick miscarriage is exactly the reason the person who is pregnant should control the announcement always.
posted by nadawi at 11:16 AM on August 18, 2015

the quick miscarriage is exactly the reason the person who is pregnant should control the announcement always.

I agree! However, he wasn't broadcasting live, and she obviously was super excited about making the announcement public together with him. Six weeks is awfully early, but they clearly have the (dangerous) conviction that positive test = BABY and were eager to get the news out. She was all about "you all can follow my whole journey!" talking to the yt fans.

also, loving their kids is immediately cancelled out by your second paragraph - i'm sure members of the westboro baptist church love their kids, but they're doing untold damage to them

I feel SO conflicted about this, because I was raised in a family with similar views to this couple's. And I've moved away from ALL of that and find those views repellent, and the fact that so many of my family members still hold them, devastatingly sad. However, I don't think their love for me or mine for them is "cancelled out" by their misguided (and IMO destructive) beliefs on these subjects, and I'm not willing to view them as completely terrible people. They certainly are not people motivated by vindictive hatred like Westboro. They are far more complicated than that.
posted by torticat at 12:11 PM on August 18, 2015 [1 favorite]

Apologies, don't mean to defend this couple so vehemently; it's just that I started out being kind of icked out by them and then came to see them as kind of weird but cute, living in a culture (TX) very different from where I live, obviously very much in love with their children; and it sucks to see them savaged the way they have been and in kind of lazy/disingenuous ways.

Most of my family was killed because they were not the right religion. These videos serve one purpose: to proselytize to non-believers. I don't think they're cute, I think they're insidious.
posted by Room 641-A at 4:53 PM on August 18, 2015 [5 favorites]

The lack of boundaries (surprise pregnancy test! let's badger our kids until they give the response we're looking for! nothing is closed when your famous!), and (possibly) lying for profit are not Texas or Christian cultural artifacts, they are off-putting and weird when done by anyone.
posted by kagredon at 5:24 PM on August 18, 2015 [1 favorite]

i respect your right to feel conflicted by that. while i agree that it's complicated, i also grew up in similar circumstances and while i know my family loves me and loved me then, the lack of love they showed through their religion was also heard loud and clear. i would balk if someone reacted to my childhood with, 'but they really loved you!' because it doesn't excuse the ways they harmed me. i guess cancelled out was not the right phrase, but rather, true or not because of the way they harm their kids, they don't get to be applauded for it.

also having read and watched a lot about westboro, i think you're wrong to consider them only motivated by hatred - fred phelps, sure, unambiguously evil - but the survivors turned abusers that he's raised and then they raised? harder to really nail down their motivations. westboro and those who have defected are filled with complicated people.

if anything i hold people like this and the duggars in far more contempt than the phelps clan - they normalize these ideas, they put a smiling happy face on them, and they convince far more people of their harmful stances than westboro ever could.
posted by nadawi at 5:35 PM on August 18, 2015 [2 favorites]

and after reading back over that i see that i'm too emotionally invested to discuss these things. sorry if came off as harsh, torticat. peace to you on your journey.
posted by nadawi at 5:40 PM on August 18, 2015

Nah no worries nadawi! I was damaged too (see: years in therapy, struggles with substance abuse, etc.), and have friends who were hurt MUCH worse. I hear you, and I do not believe the ideology is harmless. Peace to you too.
posted by torticat at 8:55 PM on August 18, 2015

I'm conflicted about this influx of Ashley Madison reveals becoming headlines, but here's this. Real solid Christian family values.
posted by naju at 12:03 PM on August 21, 2015 [8 favorites]

Damn, beaten to the punch. I came here to post that!
posted by reiichiroh at 12:23 PM on August 21, 2015 [2 favorites]

Ditto. Always nice when a crazy new leaf to an already crazy story pops up while the original MeFi thread is still open.
posted by Itaxpica at 1:02 PM on August 21, 2015 [2 favorites]

Real solid Christian family values.

More like real solid marketing skills. They're milking this YouTube fame thing dry. It's gross.
posted by mudpuppie at 8:40 AM on August 22, 2015

PS: 10 to 1 they have bears in their pool tomorrow.
posted by mudpuppie at 8:41 AM on August 22, 2015 [2 favorites]

Ok, here's today's update in the adventures of Sam and Nia: Viral Miscarriage Vlogger Sam Rader Kicked Out of Conference After Threatening Violence.
posted by effbot at 1:28 PM on August 23, 2015 [2 favorites]

That was staged by God too, I'm sure.
posted by naju at 1:45 PM on August 23, 2015

jesus didn't want him at that conference anyway
posted by poffin boffin at 1:56 PM on August 23, 2015

I'm imaginging Rader reenacting all these paintings where he's Jesus and the vloggers are the money changers.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 8:45 PM on August 23, 2015 [2 favorites]