Our “How Not To Do Business” series returns in order to discuss something that’s been inescapable for us these past few days.
Full interview with founder of Established Titles Kat Yip, by Paige Christie:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ongOBceP44A
Support:
https://www.patreon.com/untitledsidechannel
Merch:
https://www.shopsaikou.com/pages/fact-fiend
Our Side Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLJvIXTMM7bjZ5-ju8xckJg
Follow:
https://www.tiktok.com/@factfiendofficial
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Karl Smallwood:
https://twitch.tv/karlswood
https://twitter.com/KarlSmallwood
https://www.instagram.com/karlswood
Lucas Holland:
https://www.twitch.tv/LegendOfKanto
https://twitter.com/KantoLegend_
https://tiktok.com/@KantoLegend_
Brad Rawlinson
https://www.youtube.com/user/bradrawlinsonvfx
https://www.twitch.tv/ovahdawg
https://twitter.com/BradJRawlinson
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Sources:
https://trees.org/sponsor/established-titles/
https://www.charitynavigator.org/ein/521644869?fbclid=IwAR35cgzf3hZmgcN3x4nuGHIubTc47t6Jzzp5wDnOHHQpTYdbPDjvjAS7YZY
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cj0ARIos8VB/
https://galtonvoysey.com/katerina-yip-entrepreneur-in-residence
https://myraloganheartfund.org/pages/people
Music:
Breakdown Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
source
Thank you for making this video. I was planning on getting a title for someone as a Christmas gift. I saw a ton of blowback and questioned it. This video has convinced me to go through with it!
Not gonna lie, when I saw your ad, I thought of getting it for myself or my girlfriend just to be able to legally call each other lord/lady, I didn't even realise it was a charity thing.
What absolute crap. Twaddle. B effin S. Y’all sold it to us as a way to legally change your title and official documents. That’s what’s been on all your ads for months. Photos of passports and licences with Lord on them. So thanks for the 28mins of disingenuous lies. You misled us all along and y’all goddamn know it. For Shame
I trust you guys, but I'm still skeptical and have been ever since I first saw a sponsorship for them. The video that blew up doesn't have anything to do with it, even months ago when I first heard about them, I thought it seemed like an interesting twist on charity and I wanted it to be real in spite of my skeptical gut reaction to it, so I looked them up and there have been a ton of different outlets saying it's, at minimum, a bit sketchy. After seeing articles like that, I decided to write them off and not give it much thought after that. At the very least, they should have more disclaimers about what people are legally getting out of this, since even in those "adopt a panda" types of charity organizations, they'll use wording like, "symbolically adopt a panda." In all of the most visible parts of their website, they say some variation of, "buy a plot of land and get a title." They greenlit a ton of sponsorships that say that you're purchasing land and being given a legal title you can use on documents, and a lot of people are going to take that at face-value coming from influencers they trust. I've even seen people in the comments of this video say they didn't realize it was supposed to be a gag gift and thought it was just some quirky legal loop hole they were using for a fun charity idea. This is also how I interpreted the first sponsorship I saw of them.
Also in their FAQ is says:
*Can I refer to myself as a Lord or Lady?
Yes, our title packs are based on a historic Scottish land ownership custom where landowners have been long referred to as "Lairds", the Scottish term for "Lord", with the female equivalent being "Lady". Most jurisdictions will allow you to update your title when you choose to do so.
Can I use the titles of Lord or Lady on my documents?
Yes, you are able to change your title on documents in most instances. *
They are somewhere between heavily implying and outright confirming in these statements that the certificates they sell are for legal titles, can be used to officially change your title, and can be used on legal documents so long as it's one that includes the use of a prefix. Nowhere in their FAQ do they mention that they're not actually giving titles to people.
Also it would be nice if they had a breakdown of what percentage of their funds go to where. A lot of charities will have this, but I searched all over their site and didn't see one. Planting a single tree per order is a little weird since planting a tree doesn't really cost that much, and a purchase including a physical copy of the title is somewhere around $140 including the frame, with the initial $50 being just for a digital copy. Where is all of that money going? If they're legit, I'm assuming some if it is donated to charity to plant the trees, and most of it goes to buying more land for conservation, but when they're not transparent about it on their site, where am I supposed to believe the money is going? I'm sure they do donate some, but most of it could be ending up in their pockets for all I know.
And legally, is there any guarantee that they won't some day dissolve the company and use all of the land they own for their own development and profit? Will it always be for conservation? I genuinely don't know the answer to this, is there some sort of registry for nature preserves that guarantees it can't be used for infrastructure? I'd hate to think they're using other people's money just to buy themselves a future real estate investment.
Emily D Baker, a lawyer creator on YouTube, also did a big section of her livestream about AHs appeal brief. (Still live right now as I type this, but I'm already like 2hr behind. Lol)
She made the same points as you guys have made. She also saw it as an obvious novelty gift, also comparing it to the star naming certificates. That the proof of donation can simply be found on those foundation's websites. She doesn't have a contract going forward but she is not taking her very recent ad read down, either. If you have more going forward, I'd include proof of donations and stress the novelty of it and that it is a way to get people to donate to preventing deforestation efforts.
I think their other main product is those kamikoto (?) knives that have a lot of drama around them as a scam as well but I got bored right way trying to watch a video on it so idk what the scam is supposed to be there. One guy was showing yes it cut thru everything they claimed hut then you ruined your knife qnd it was no longer sharp. But I feel that was a given not misleading advertising. If you saw a rock with a knife it's going to get dull lol when he started the test it was incredibly sharp as advertised, so again idk the scam they claim behind that other company owned by these same people. Lol
It's scary how one video making a fuss can start such a sh!tshow.
The irony of it all is that comment sections and the original video are talking about how noone does proper research and here we go with a stampede of people citing ONE SINGLE VIDEO as the end all be all prove.
Hey guys. Just wanted to say thank you for doing this video and thank you for the transparency that you have when it comes to your business. It's the reason why I check YouTube nearly daily for any new videos from you and also why you're the only person I'm currently subscribed to you that I actually watch off of YouTube. Really appreciate you guys standing up for what is clearly a legitimate charity that needs help from those who are advertising for them, as opposed to dipshits that don't want to look up facts and just pull out for the sake of protecting their own brand. I love how you reference the moon landing, anti-vaxine Etc as a comparison because it is exactly that kind of dumb shit that causes good legitimate causes to be permanently harmed just because some dumbass and his mother's basement with a computer decided to badmouth them. Long thank you short, just thank you for your integrity and using your deductive reasoning skills to check whether or not something was true or false as opposed to what most other people do or are doing. Can't wait for the next vid. Can't remember the last time we saw a drunk video, but if Carl's still trying to keep his weight in check then I get it, besides you keeping your weight in check is how I know that maybe Carl isn't vampire
Here's my big question though… what is the price difference between the charity that plants trees in Scotland vs the Lord charity. I don't blame these guys or anyone for promoting this "product", but clearly this company wants everyone to believe what they required each of these creators were required to say. They say the same exact phrase right down to putting the Lord title on your dating profile (if you think that might help you). This is basically a middleman for a charity, just skimming off of a real charity for a text document that says you're a lord. I never bought any titles through this but I was looking into it and then this came out. All I'm saying is every other product is required to disclaim(even if only in the fine text) when they exaggerate or lie about what there product actually does. This has gone to court before for reasons. I'm not unsubscribing from these guys or anything like that, I just don't agree/am not convinced by this 29 minute argument, it sounds too biased and they laugh at this whole situation. I will now be donating straight to the real charity that actually donates trees, and just Photoshop my brother's names on a few "certificates" and hand them to them for Christmas… same thing at the end of the day but it costs less
Algorithm boosting comment here
I cannot fathom how people did not understand what this was or how people never do their own research and will blindly adopt a stance without any critical examination.
It was for such people that the following phrase was created.
It pays to keep an open mind, but not so open your brains fall out
I watched "the video that shall not be named" went to two famous reforestation charities websites and found them as sponsors/contributors on both of them. . .
While I can appreciate the fact That Guy can be wrong, it's really something they should be vocal about in their sponsorships and trying to get That Guy to do a retraction. I'll readily believe that lots of reforestation/carbon offset campaigns are fake, knowing about one that actually does what it purports is also important to know.
Thanks you for clearing up the accusations
I haven't seen the video ya'll be talking about, nor do I plan to, but my take away from this video was of course "Fact Fiend doing their homework, and being selective in their partners pays off again". I'm sad to hear a charity getting done dirty like that. I hope they get a chance to be exonerated in the news. A defamation case is definitely warranted.
Thank you for the clear and well researched thing. Im happy to say that this is actually the first time I've heard of this fake issue.
I wonder how much of this is just a bunch of butthurt Americans finding out that they could have just been signing their name Lord Doodle-Dandy anyway. Its not like this is a new idea or anything. It's a shame that legit charities and high quality creator-lead media like you guys are getting tarred and feathered by a bunch of folk who don't know how words work.
I feel really sorry for you guys because you have STOOD against sponsership for quite a long time. And now the first one you really take (HAS GOT TO BE AN EXAMPLE OF IT) Keep on going guys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! F the bs
I've been watching your channel for years and have been thinking about it for a while now, but this video co vinced me, you're the second channel I've ever decided to support on patreon
I am subscribing to your channel BECAUSE of this video and excited to watch more videos in the mornings. Thank you for being a light in the skeptic community.
I mostly watched it because a youtuber had a link to it in the description, and I nearly completely bought into the thing. But after mentioning it with a family member they mentioned that they saw it as a gimmick. So now after watching this I feel like crap for so much as repeating what the guy said in his video especially the Hong Kong comment. Thank you guys so much for not immediately jumping on the band wagon.
I know it doesn't really matter, but my opinion on ET has been swayed a bit by you guys. There are still questions and I'm not fond of the ad copy they had people read, but their response to you has been encouraging.
Thanks for the viewpoint from the other side. I haven't seen the video you reference, but I'm aware of the points they make. Seen a little discussion from other places too, enough to make me wary of both sides to some extent.
I appreciate your video though.
The government they claim to be working with said it's BS. I'm sorry but this is just too far.
As a small business owner who is partnered with one of the tree planting organizations you mentioned, I have no criticism for this video. You guys are doing the right thing standing up for this company. As you are seen as one of the public faces of this company, it's unfortunate that so much of this hate has come your way and potentially affected your ability to produce content, whether that is mentally or monetarily. I wish your team and Established Titles all the best and hope both of you rebound from this situation.
You guys are awesome!!! I’m glad you made this video. I knew when I watched the other video that it couldn’t be true because of all your videos discussing sponsorships.
Its nice they donate too a charity, but they have the people they sponsor say things like you can officially call yourself a lord.
However you can't only they recognise you as a lord.
Its the wording they get you guys to use thats misleading.
No one says ita a novelty in the advertisements.
So if you want to donate too those charitys just do it.