US YouTuber heckled over S'pore O-Level exam accepts apologies, impressed by 'mature responses'

On Oct. 16, American content creator Youtuber Alicia, who goes by @AliciaintheMountains on Youtube, found herself the target of hundreds of negative comments.

Her first name and YouTube video content drew parallels with a section of the GCE 'O' Level English Listening Comprehension (LC), leading many to think that her content had inspired the examination topic. 

Prompted by the difficulty of the examination, many commenters vented their frustration by leaving angry comments on her videos.

Speaking to Mothership, she said that while she was initially "quite surprised and confused" when she saw the influx of comments, she was able to grasp the situation thanks to the "many helpful and apologetic students who emailed me directly and left comments [on the video]."

The Philadelphia-based creator, who only wished to be known by her first name, also confirmed that she has not been in contact with both the Ministry of Education (MOE) or Singapore Examination Assessment Board (SEAB).

"They have not reached out and I have not reached out to them."

Wanted to inspire others with her travels

Alicia shared that she first started her channel in 2020 to document her preparations for the Appalachian Trail, which spans over 3,000 kilometres.

She completed a quarter of it in 2022.

Originally intended for her family and friends, she "gained a small audience throughout the course of creating these videos" and wanted to continue documenting it ahead of a second attempt in 2024.

"I wanted to continue sharing my hiking and travel adventures on my channel with a goal of inspiring others (particularly women) to do difficult and challenging things."

Thus, in her second attempt, Alicia documented all 73 days of her 1030 kilometers journey along the Trail.

Reflecting on the experience, she described the trail as "a beautiful hiking trail that allows you to see so much of the U.S. that most foreign travelers—and even our own [American] citizens—never see."

She added:

"I know some other countries may view the US as a potentially dangerous place fueled by volatile politics, but the experiences we have on this trail remind us Appalachian Trail hikers that there are still plenty of good people in our country & the world."

Alicia remains unsure whether the exam passage was "truly just an uncanny coincidence" or if her channel had inspired the section of the examination.

"If it did serve as an inspiration, that’s great (it was a goal of my channel to inspire others to hike) but part of me wishes the first name would have been changed.

On the other hand, it has provided the opportunity for Singaporeans to learn about the Appalachian Trail and hopefully come out of this with an excitement for it or hiking."

SEAB has confirmed with Mothership that the similarities were "incidental."

Cyberbullying is an issue "worldwide"

Drawing parallels to the culture of teenagers in the U.S., Alicia was "not surprised" by how the youths in Singapore had acted out.

"Cyberbullying is a real issue worldwide, and should be prevented & discouraged. It’s a reality of an age of nonstop social media & web access at our hands."

However, she noted a significant change in the demeanour of commenters once they realised she was unaffiliated with the examination, and was pleasantly surprised at how apologetic some were.

Overall impression of Singapore has not changed

All in all, Alicia's impression of Singapore has not been negatively affected.

Instead, the overwhelming number of "apologetic and mature" responses she has received has only made her "think more highly" of the culture.

"Singapore is very high up on my list of countries in Asia to visit. [...] I do love to travel internationally and hope I can make it to Singapore soon."

We'll be sure to recommend a few local trails for you when you do, Alicia.

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Top image from @AliciaintheMountains/Youtube