Drew Durnil (born: January 16, 1992[1]), formerly known online as Funnyforlike20[2] and BAStartGaming,[3] is an American Youtuber focusing on reacting and commentating on Reddit posts and the like, primarily from online fandoms related to countries and history, such as Polandball. Drew's content initially focused on games such as Hearts of Iron 4, Civilization 6, Europa Universalis 4, and other grand strategy games, but it changed over time as he felt that he exhausted the AI-only battle type of content.[4] He moved his gaming content to a second channel called DruuuWu.
Because Drew sources his Polandball comics from the r/Polandball subreddit, nearly all of his Polandball-themed videos have featured uncredited comics at some point, particularly his earlier work. Drew has been criticized, particularly within the r/Polandball and r/CountryHumans Reddit communities, for featuring fan-created comics and animations in his videos without crediting the original artists. On Reddit forums related to Polandball and Countryhumans, many users are critical of Drew's approach, while some have acknowledged that his videos have also brought wider attention to the communities.
Background[]
Drew was born in Montgomery, Alabama.[5] He currently lives somewhere in Orange County, California, in Los Angeles near the beach. Drew has stated in multiple videos that he had worked in a restaurant before, although his role in the restaurant or the restaurant itself is unknown. On January 1, 2007, he started a channel called Funnyforlike20,[2] where he made skits like "Officer Sanchez" with his best friend and editor Frank Sanchez. He would later create the channel Drew Durnil in 2013.[6]
Other Videos[]
While Drew's channel mostly consists of him either playing or watching games, he also occasionally makes other videos involving geography and history. He regularly reacts on numerous subreddits, like r/polandball, r/vexillologycirclejerk, r/imaginarymaps, r/historymemes, among many others.
Drew has his own subreddit, r/drewdurnil, which he sometimes visits on a video. He also sometimes reacts to lists, facts, or videos surrounding the topic of history and most of them are from Reddit.
He often appears on his editor's channel, Frank Sanchez.[7] Frank not only makes multiplayer gaming videos with Drew, but also makes vlogs with him, often delving into his personal life, and his family.[8] Frank also has his own gaming channel, where he plays games similar to the ones released on Drew's second channel, DruuuWu.
Controversy[]
Countryhumans Fandom[]
Drew has made numerous videos reacting to fan-made Countryhumans and Statehumans content, often using titles that suggest surprise or disbelief at what he is viewing. Some videos involve reacting to animations or shorts that explain world history and controversial topics using the Countryhumans format. Drew also covers related content, such as "Statehumans," and has reacted to videos portraying countries as women or commenting on stereotypes within the fandom.
Drew has been criticized, particularly within the r/Polandball and r/CountryHumans Reddit communities, for featuring fan-created comics and animations in his videos without crediting the original artists. Artists who create Countryhumans content, often without monetization, have expressed frustration that Drew profits from ad revenue on videos where he uses their work for commentary. The Polandball and Countryhumans communities predate Drew's involvement. Many members view his channel as separate from the original fandom and dislike their content being used for reaction videos. Some of Drew's most controversial Countryhumans videos are those in which he uses fan-created art and animations without crediting the original artists. The primary source of controversy is his practice of profiting from reaction videos based on the non-monetized work of others. Examples of his controversial videos involving "Countryhumans" and similar content include:
- WHAT THE F^K ARE COUNTRYHUMANS?! (2020)*: This is one of Drew's earliest videos reacting to the fandom and likely a key source of the initial backlash. It features him reacting to fan-made content, with some in the fandom claiming it was used without permission or credit. It was also the first video Kirby Bulborb saw amid someone he knew becoming involved in the fandom, the person he knew and a Malaysian friend of theirs becoming controversial within the community due to their actions, such as NSFW conversations.
- Countryhumans That Make Me Return to Monke... (2021): A follow-up video where Drew's reacts to more fan content, continuing the pattern of featuring work from Reddit and other platforms. This kind of video has drawn criticism for monetizing the work of uncredited artists.
- Countryhumans is Actually So Bad... (2024): In this video, Drew reacts to several fan-made animations and shorts, often with titles and commentary that fans have criticized for being dismissive or belittling toward the community. The video drew particular ire for its use of content concerning controversial topics like modern geopolitical conflicts, including Ukraine and Russia.
- The VERY Dark Side of Countryhumans... (2024): A video that focuses on more sensitive fan creations within the fandom. Durnil discusses depictions of historical events and international relations, with some members of the community arguing that his commentary sensationalizes the content without proper context.
PolandBall Comics[]
When Drew started making videos about Polandball comics from the Polandball subreddit, he did not credit the original artists when he showed their comics on YouTube, which caused initial backlash. People argued that it took members off the original subreddit, and thus, fewer people actually viewed their comics. He was later reported to have threatened to dox a Polandball artist after they filed a DMCA notice on one of his videos that featured their comics without consent. The Polandball YouTube channel itself is partially a response to reaction channels like Drew to give greater exposure to the Polandball subreddit via YouTube on its own terms.
Several of Drew's Polandball videos have attracted criticism, largely for the same reasons as his Countryhumans content. Specific examples include using fan-created comics from the r/Polandball subreddit without crediting the original artists, monetizing content that the original creators made for non-commercial purposes, and threatening to dox a Polandball artist who filed a DMCA notice against one of his videos.
While Drew's approach to content creation has led to community growth and engagement for some artists, it has also sparked controversy and frustration among others. The core issue revolves around the ethics of using and monetizing creative work without explicit permission or credit.
Because Drew sources his Polandball comics from the r/Polandball subreddit, nearly all of his Polandball-themed videos have featured uncredited comics at some point, particularly his earlier work. The controversy isn't about one specific video but rather his overall practice of monetizing content created by others. Some of his most prominent videos that have drawn criticism include:
- My Reddit is Cringe (2021): In this video, Durnil browses and reacts to content from his own subreddit, as well as the r/Polandball subreddit. While the title is self-deprecating, his approach to featuring fan-made comics without credit or direct permission drew backlash from the Polandball community, who viewed it as him profiting off their non-monetized work.
- Countryballs that cause depression... (2021): This video, along with others with similar titles, follows Durnil as he reacts to various fan-made comics. The issue lies in his practice of sorting the subreddit by "top of week" or "top of all time," and then reading the popular comics for his videos, which many artists feel is a low-effort way to gain ad revenue from their work.
- Why do Europeans do this... (Countryballs) (2021): Similar to his other videos, this entry featured a collection of fan-made comics from Reddit. The overall criticism around this content practice contributed to the negative sentiment toward Durnil within the Polandball fandom.
- The Most UNLUCKY Country... (Countryballs) (2023): Even in later videos like this one, which features a variety of Countryballs content, Durnil's use of uncredited or unauthorized work remains a point of contention for some community members.
The key issue in all these examples is the core reaction-style format itself. Durnil's channel exists by commenting on and reacting to content found elsewhere, and for the Polandball community, that means using their work without direct compensation or credit.
Channel milestones[]
Subscriber milestones[]
- 100,000 subscribers: April 24, 2017
- 500,000 subscribers: January 6, 2020
- 1 million subscribers: March 17, 2022
Video view milestones[]
- 500 million video views: January 8, 2022
Trivia[]
- A long-running joke on his channel involved his hair looking like a paintbrush. He had this haircut for a while until he used it as an actual paintbrush to make a painting.[9] He then cut his hair, ending the joke.
- Drew once got a view on one of his videos from North Korea, sparking jokes that North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un himself was the one who watched said video.[10]
- Drew is 5'6 (167 cm).[11]
- In 2020, a girl that film and anime YouTuber Kirby Bulborb knew at high school became involved in the Countryhumans fandom, and Drew's videos about Countryhumans at the time (as well as his own independent research) led to Kirby, who had previously been unaware of the fandom's existence at all, becoming aware of the problematic aspects of the fandom, and he went on to witness disturbing behaviour from the girl and a Malaysian friend of hers reminiscent of the behaviour that Drew alluded to in his videos, such as NSFW content. Kirby mentioned this in his video discussing the situation for the first time.[12]
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ https://youtu.be/pNy_8HG_giI?si=nPL3Aod4R3E2E5yW
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdLmLzoVMTw
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/DrewDurnil/comments/awmjf9/so_ive_got_a_question/
- ↑ What if the USA was the Last Democracy Left? (HOI4 TNO) - YouTube
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HMLHJBQdug (watch at 12:12)
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/@DrewDurnil/about
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChaPzAGqHmZuCCWtyXoHKyw
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChaPzAGqHmZuCCWtyXoHKyw
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jS-YuwTDw8
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4u6X4c0RR88
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qv_72zijRFg (watch at 4:44)
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsONadq60Lc