June 6, 2200 

 
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realIT News 

VirTube DOWN -- How the crash has led to 

skyrocketing suicide rates, only after 2 days 
By: Ava Moffett 
 

Many citizens within RealiCity have reported that the beloved website VirTube has 
crashed, leaving citizens unable to view the videos of their favorite internet stars, 
better known as hackers. VirTube is a website on virtual reality where citizens spend 
their time watching lifestyle, news, beauty, and entertainment videos. The platform 
has only crashed once in 2090 for five minutes, this one being their largest and most 
detrimental. Users report that all videos have been deleted from the internet 

 
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platform, and shows a blank screen when trying to access the website. VirTube has 
yet to comment or release a public statement regarding the progress their team has 
made towards resolving this crash.  

According to the Control Center for VR Apps, the average amount of time a citizen spends 
on VirTube is two to three hours per day. This shows that many users are dependent on 
VirTube on a daily basis. One user who feels this way is Bob Murray. Murray views VirTube 
as an essential role in his daily routine, and described the crash of VirTube as “the biggest 
letdown of the 23nd century.”  

VirTube is a source of entertainment, however, people use it to follow upcoming trends 

and often make daily decisions based on the hackers they follow. Andrea Aguila expressed 
her dependence on the site by telling realIT News that, “Every morning I go on [VirTube] so I 
can decide what to wear, and what food I should eat. The hackers I follow are my biggest 
inspirations, and I have been struggling with severe depression because of this crash.”  

VirTube contains an average of 40 million people on the site per hour, which is 
seventy-five percent of Realicity’s population. Not only does this show people’s dependence 
on the platform, but as well as user’s addiction to the website. Throughout the two days of 

 
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this crash, the Center for Citizen’s Well Being have reported a skyrocketing increase in 
suicide rates. In the past forty-eight hours, the suicide rate has increased from fifteen 
suicide deaths per 100,000 people to 500 suicide deaths per 100,000 people. One can infer 
that the crash of VirTube has led to the escalation of suicides due this outrageous increase. 
It has also been reported that the amount of patients in hospitals have increased, with 
seventy percent of hospitals across RealityCity being at full capacity.  

One of the many people affected by the VirTube crash was nineteen year-old Paul 
Murray. Murray was so devastated by the crash, that he decided to take his own life. His 
parents discovered a suicide note that read “It was VirTube who killed me”. According to 
Murray’s parents, the teenager was heavily influenced by his favorite hackers on the 
internet platform, spending up to six hours each day on the webpage. They mentioned that 
Paul even made daily decisions based on the ideals of the hackers he followed, such as 
what to wear, eat, or buy. 

  

Not only have average users of the website been affected by the VirTube crash, but the 
hackers themselves have been outspoken about it, as well. For many hackers, VirTube is a 
career and provides them steady incomes, based on the amount of followers and views 

 
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they get on their videos. Many hackers also receive brand deals with companies and post 
advertisements with partnered brands in their videos. One hacker who has been 
outspoken about the website’s crash was Gabriella Willow. Willow publicly stated that “I am 
directly apologizing to all of my followers who currently cannot view my content. I have 
been struggling with major depressive disorder for the past two days, and I don’t know if I 
can handle this much longer.” Unfortunately, twelve hours after Willow released this public 
statement, she was found dead in her home by her sister, Alex. Willow was not the only 
hacker who took her life, she was amongst many others, such as Drew Fader, Michelle Sora, 
and Chris Ram.  

Many citizens are currently taking to other social websites amongst virtual reality to speak 
on this issue. Some users believe that hackers are taking their lives because they cannot 
comprehend the idea of not being able to share their work with their followers, while 
others believe that the hackers are unable to cope with not making money for days at a 
time.  

Despite people’s beliefs, it is certain that the crash of VirTube has severely affected many 
lives across RealityCity. The progress made towards this issue is currently unknown and will 
continue to escalate if it is not fixed in a timely manner.  

   

 
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