Actor and former model Tyrese Gibson accused of stealing other people’s viral videos to promote his R&B album on Facebook

According to an YouTube user, actor and former model Tyrese Gibson is using other people’s viral videos to promote his R&B album on Facebook. YouTube channel Kurzgesagt states that actor and R&B singer/songwriter Tyrese Gibson of taking videos from other content creators without permission and uploading them to his Facebook page.

One video which Gibson posted back in October — “The best Halloween costume ever!!!” — was viewed 89 million times on his Facebook page. According to reports, Gibson allegedly took the video from YouTube without asking the original content creator. Apparently, the original creator did not receive either the credit for the same and also lost out on ad revenues from the 89 million views which might have been substantial.

The Kurzgesagt video says Gibson is not the only one who does this. “A whole group of people have built their online presence around stealing other people’s work,” Kurzgesagt writes.

What makes Gibson’s example stand out is that not only is he allegedly stealing other people’s work, but it appears he has been using the videos to advertise his own R&B Album.

According to reports, when Gibson uploads the video, he adds a link to the post, which directs users to buy his latest album on iTunes.

To reach 86 million people via a Facebook ad, Gibson would have needed to pay thousands of dollars. But by using people’s videos seemingly without permission, he’s getting all that exposure for free.

It’s not clear what Facebook is doing about it, either — this isn’t the first time Gibson has been accused of taking other people’s videos and uploading them to his Facebook page.

Business Insider has contacted Facebook and Tyrese Gibson’s talent agency, Red Entertainment, for comment.