FamilyOFive

Mike Martin
Personal information
Born Michael Christopher Martin
(1982-12-17) December 17, 1982
Maryland
Origin Ijiamsville
Nationality American
Residence Falling Waters, WV
Occupation YouTube personality, vlogger
YouTube information
Channel
Years active 2015–2018
Genre Vlog, "prank"
Subscribers 0 (713,000 at peak)
Total views 6.9 million+
100,000 subscribers
Subscriber and view counts updated as of May 21, 2018.

FamilyOFive, formerly known as DaddyOFive, is a defunct YouTube channel and online alias of Michael Christopher "Mike" Martin (born 1982), which focused on daily vlogging and "prank" videos. At its peak, the channel's videos featured Martin, his wife Heather Martin—also known by her online alias MommyOFive—and their children. In 2017, following claims that the parents were abusing their children in the "prank" videos, the channel became the center of a controversy, as many saw their content as extreme in nature.

Created in 2015, the channel achieved success earning up to 176 million video views and around 750,000 subscribers at its peak. However, after the aforementioned controversy, all videos on the channel were removed, and the Martins stopped producing videos on the channel, aside from a formal public apology video. Mike Martin and Heather Martin took an Alford plea in September 2017 in regards to two counts per person of Maryland state child neglect charges and received supervised probation for five years.

The Martins ceased creating content on the DaddyOFive channel as a result of the controversy, but began producing similar content on a new channel called FamilyOFive, which was terminated by YouTube in July 2018 following renewed interest in the family. However, the Martins have their official website called officialfamilyofive.com, and a gaming channel on Twitch.

History

Creation of channel and rise in popularity

The channel was created on August 13, 2015;[1] the channel's about page says, "we as a FAMILY DECIDED to make this YouTube channel just for fun."[1] The channel focused on Mike Martin, his wife Heather and their five children: Jake, Ryan, Emma, Cody, and Alex.[2] The channel accumulated around 750,000 subscribers and 176 million views, prior to Martin removing the videos from public viewing.[2] The Guardian and New York Magazine reported the videos were made private,[2][3] while Time and The Washington Post reported that the videos were deleted.[4][5]

Controversy and public response

The family became the centre of abuse claims following these prank videos which became gradually more extreme.[2] American actor, journalist and YouTube personality Philip DeFranco released a series of videos covering the channel and sharing his distaste for the content they created, starting with "WOW... We Need To Talk About This..." on April 17, 2017.[6][2] He primarily focused on a video involving invisible ink being spilt, and two of the family's children, Cody and Alex, being falsely accused of making the mess. In the video, Cody cries and pleads hysterically after being screamed and sworn at and accused of lying, with Alex also facing a similar treatment from the parents.[7] DeFranco's first video covering the channel was uploaded on April 17,[8] and is credited by many news outlets for shining a light on the channel's extreme content.[4][9][5] Andrew Griffin of The Independent wrote, "[DeFranco's] video was viewed more than three million times and brought widespread condemnation of the DaddyOFive channel."[9] The video has led to debates about sharenting and children being minor celebrities on social media.[10] Two of the family's children, Cody and Emma, were removed from their custody and returned to their biological mother.[9] The creators also issued a public apology for the videos and state they are "a loving, close-knit family."[7][2]

Post-controversy status and plea agreement

The DaddyOFive channel released a video on July 7 showing text expressing that it is not a dead channel and asking viewers to subscribe to Heather's MommyOFive channel for new videos and updates.[11] In July 2017, DaddyOFive and MommyOFive channel had around 730,000 subscribers and 4.7 million video views, and around 110,000 subscribers and 2.1 million video views, respectively. Later, they changed their channel name to FamilyOFive after receiving the silver play button for MommyOFive.[1][12]

Prosecutors from the Frederick County Circuit Court filed criminal charges against Michael and Heather Martin in August 2017, with each person facing two counts of "neglect of a minor".[13] On September 11, 2017, the Martins pleaded guilty by way of an Alford plea and were sentenced to five years of supervised probation.[14]

Final termination

The FamilyOFive channel, a new outlet for the Martins' videos created while they were on probation, reinstituted the questionable pattern of behavior regarding abuse of the children featured in the videos. The channel was subsequently terminated on July 18, 2018, for violating YouTube's Community Guidelines, according to several news sources, and YouTube now requires videos featuring children to comply with local child labor laws.

Despite their final termination, the Martins continue to post videos on their official website behind a monthly $5 subscription fee.[15] and continue streaming gaming videos on their Twitch Channel[16].

See also

  • Elsagate, a similar scandal which took place in the same year

References

  1. 1 2 3 "DaddyOFive — YouTube about page". YouTube. Retrieved June 7, 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Cresci, Elena (May 7, 2017). "Mean stream: how YouTube prank channel DaddyOFive enraged the internet". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved June 7, 2017.
  3. ↑ Dunphy, Rachel (April 28, 2017). "The Abusive 'Pranks' of YouTube Family Vloggers". Select All. New York Magazine. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
  4. 1 2 Gajanan, Mahita (May 3, 2017). "YouTube Star DaddyOFive Loses Custody of 2 Children Shown in 'Prank' Videos". Time. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
  5. 1 2 Ohlheiser, Abby (April 26, 2017). "The saga of a YouTube family who pulled disturbing pranks on their own kids". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
  6. ↑ "WOW... We Need To Talk About This..."
  7. 1 2 "YouTube pranksters Daddyofive deny child abuse claims". Newsbeat. BBC. April 18, 2017. Retrieved June 7, 2017.
  8. ↑ DeFranco, Philip (April 17, 2017). WOW... We Need To Talk About This... The Philip DeFranco Show. YouTube. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
  9. 1 2 3 Griffin, Andrew (May 2, 2017). "YouTube star Daddyofive loses custody of two children featured in 'prank' video, mother says". The Independent. Retrieved June 7, 2017.
  10. ↑ Abidin, Crystal; Leaver, Tamin. "When exploiting kids for cash goes wrong on YouTube: the lessons of DaddyOFive". The Conversation. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
  11. ↑ DaddyOFive channel UPDATE!!. DaddyOFive. YouTube. July 7, 2017. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
  12. ↑ "MommyOFive — YouTube about page". YouTube. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
  13. ↑ Loos, Kelsi. "Ijamsville couple behind 'DaddyOFive' videos charged with neglect". The Frederick News Post. Retrieved 2017-08-12.
  14. ↑ Augenstein, Neal. "'DaddyOFive' parents found guilty of neglect, avoid jail". WTOP-FM. Retrieved September 11, 2017.
  15. ↑ https://www.officialfamilyofive.com/
  16. ↑ https://www.twitch.tv/FamilyOFive
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