Mexico says

On May 10th, YouTube Mega-Star Mrbeast (real name James Donaldson) published a video entitled “With the title” I survived 100 hours in an old temple One of his channel, which currently has more than 394 million subscribers. The video, which is part of its endurance series lying from the Globe-Toting endurance, collected over 55 million views in just four days. Although the challenges may be real, not everything is shown in the video – at least according to the National Institute for Anthropology and History of Mexico (Inah).

In a declaration published on May 12, Inah confirmed that Donaldson’s visits in several archaeological zones from Maya – including Chichén Itzá, Calakmul and Balamcanché – were carried out with the approval of the Federal Ministry of Tourism and the governments of Campeche and Yucatán. The institute stated that all filming in areas accessed to the public took place without blocking access for other visitors. In Calakmul, the group II also visited a structure that was usually closed for tourists, but was occasionally made available by preliminary coordination.

However, the explanation also aimed at several inaccuracies in the final cut. Among them: Contrary to what is implied in the video, no drones were flown in El Castillo in Chichén Itzá, nobody came from a helicopter, and nobody spent the night in an archaeological site. Inah emphasized that his employees were present during the entire production to enforce security and maintenance protocols.

One of the more theatrical moments in the video shows that Donaldson presents a centuries -old grave mask. “Why isn’t that in a museum?” He jokes in front of the camera. “Why does a YouTuber keep that?” According to Inah, it wasn’t. “The presented person is clearly a contemporary reproduction,” said the agency and added that no authentic artifacts were treated or removed during the shoot.

Despite the “wrong claims”, Inah hit a conciliatory tone and said that content like Donaldson could help to arouse interest among younger spectators in the cultural heritage of Mexico – as long as it is followed with a historically precise context.