YouTubers hire bodyguards to 'hunt' street vendors in Spain

YouTubers hire bodyguards to 'hunt' street vendors in Spain

A viral video shows two young men with a bodyguard who looks like Jason Statham assaulting a street vendor in a tourist area. The incident, filmed and uploaded to the internet, has peine the debate about the limits of confrontation content and the legality of these practices.

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The modus operandi of the 'tourist hunters'

The scene is a familiar one: a vendor offers a bracelet as a "gift", then demands money, and if the tourist refuses, tension builds that sometimes escalates into insults or scuffles. In this case, the YouTubers decided to respond with a punch thrown by their companion, a man with previous experience in similar videos. According to witnesses, the vendor had been trinc and harassing the young men for five minutes, asking them for money and even offering drugs.

Recording and then sharing the footage is aimed at generating buzz, but it raises serious legal questions. While some argue that the vendor "asked for it" through his violent and scamming behaviour, others point out that the response was disproportionate and that filming the assault to post it online shows a dangerous bid for attention.

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The business of confrontation on social media

Behind these videos lies a business model: the more controversy, the more views. The bodyguard has already appeared on other channels, always "throwing a punch", according to comments. The strategy is reminiscent of other YouTubers who seek out conflicts with vulnerable people to obtain viral content. The question is whether these methods are actionable or whether they simply exploit a legal loophole.

Some users are calling on the public prosecutor's office to act on its own initiative, while others believe the street vendor is part of a structural problem in tourist areas, where the harassment of tourists has become normalised. The reality is that both sides bear responsibility, and the courts will have to rule.

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Self-defence or premeditated assault?

The legal debate is complex. If the vendor never got physical, was the bodyguard's response self-defence? The YouTubers claim they felt harassed, but filming the incident and having a martial arts specialist on hand suggests premeditation. Moreover, the fact that they did not return the bracelet and provoked the vendor casts further doubt on their good faith.

Meanwhile, the vendor, however reprehensible his modus operandi, has taken a punch that may have caused him injuries. In any case, the video going viral should not replace the judicial process.

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The proliferation of this type of content raises an uncomfortable question: are we witnessing the birth of a new form of digital vigilantism, where anyone with a phone and a bodyguard can take justice into their own hands?