US YouTuber bombarded by angry comments about S'pore O-Level English listening comprehension passage

When YouTube content creator @AliciaintheMountains woke up on Oct. 16, she found herself embroiled in an influx of negative comments from Singapore but had no idea why.

As it turned out, her first name and YouTube video content shared an uncanny resemblance to a section of the GCE 'O' Level English Listening Comprehension (LC) which had taken place earlier that day.

The 27-minute clip, which she had posted four months prior, features Alicia talking through her equipment and preparations for the Appalachian Trail.

A Mothership reader shared that part three of the listening comprehension had told a similar story, one of a character named Alicia preparing for a hike along the Appalachian Trail.

Part three of the LC is a fill-in-the-blanks section.

Examination takers would hear the recording twice.

What likely prompted the negative comments was the fact that students found the section particularly difficult.

"Students were dissatisfied with the speed and method in which information in the passage was presented," said the reader.

Here's how the section of the paper typically looks like:

Many took to the comments section to express their frustration in the late afternoon (the wee hours of the morning in the States) inevitably harassing the creator.

'Crazy to wake up to'

This came as a shock to Alicia herself.

Waking up to an overwhelming number of comments compelled her to clarify that she "truly didn't have anything to do with the [listening comprehension]".

She also assured users that the voice in the voiceover was not her own, and has "deleted some of the mean comments."

Alicia further clarified that her surname is different from the one used in the examination.

In attempts to mitigate the situation, other commenters identified themselves as students and shared explanations of the situation. They also apologised on behalf of those who had left negative comments.

Acknowledging the effort, Alicia made another comment:

"Thank you to everyone who has left nice comments and apologies. I appreciate it. I am sure you can imagine how confused I was waking up to this this morning. Thank you to everyone who has explained what happened to me as well, either with a comment here or through email.

I originally thought my video or audio was used, but it sounds like it was a voice actor who happened to tell a story of an Appalachian Trail hiker who shares the first name as me."

She added that while her story may have inspired the text, she does not think she will be able to "take any action against SEAB or Cambridge" given that her voice and speech were not used directly.

Alicia concluded by wishing students "the best of luck" for their examinations, and expressed her desire to visit Singapore in the future.

"Maybe you'll see a Singapore travel vlog from me in the future!"

Mothership has contacted MOE and SEAB for comments.

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Top image from @AliciaInTheMountains/Youtube