Double seems to be the best word to describe brothers Alex and Alan Stokes.
First, they can’t seem to stop doubling their subscriber count: In March 2024, they had 27 million subscribers. That figure rose to more than 50 million by May of the same year. And 50 million became 100 million by December.
Second, they’re twins. The Stokes Twins, to be precise.
What draws millions of subscribers to their eponymous YouTube channel? Some might say it’s the public pranks they pull. Others might point to the zany, over-the-top challenges in which they compete. Still more might just enjoy the myths they test.
Oh, look at that, they’ve reached more than 130 million subscribers now.
But if you’d like to join that number, what should you expect?
Note: Stokes Twins was requested by a user of Plugged In. Do you have a YouTube channel you’d like us to review? Submit your request by sending it to letters@pluggedin.com, or contact us via Facebook or Instagram so we can check it out!
The twins often collaborate with other YouTubers, boosting others in the social sphere. They’ve also donated money to charities, worked in food bank drives and assisted the homeless. And it seems that the twins and their friends have a blast with their pranks and challenges.
In one prank, the twins remove their shirts inside a Target; after they’re kicked out, they sneak back inside, take off their shirts and pants and run around in their underwear onscreen. Thumbnails include men in swimsuits and women in bikinis. We also hear the occasional sexual quip or lewd joke. There are some fluid-based pranks, too, including pretending to stain the bed with menstrual blood or tossing Nutella-covered underwear at a woman so that she thinks it’s fecal matter.
Some thumbnails include fake blood. Disturbingly, we see a joke about “Bubba,” pretending to be an elderly predator, who pulls a man into a “love shack” to assault him. In one video, the twins pretend to be haunted and possessed by the supernatural.
While the f-word and s-word are censored, we do hear “d–n” and “h—.” God’s name is frequently used in vain as well.
Videos are very chaotic and can feel very consumeristic in nature. What’s more, plenty of other YouTubers have called the channel out for directly copying thumbnails and stealing their content (sometimes nearly beat for beat). This issue grows even more problematic when some Stokes Twins’ videos outperform the smaller channel’s videos they’ve taken from, stealing potential revenue from those creators.
Some over-the-top pranks can go over the top or make the twins general nuisances to others who are just trying to go about their day. The twins two have even faced legal trouble after a prank in which they pretended to be robbers stealing money from a bank.
As of this posting, Stokes Twins rank as the 7th most-subscribed channel on YouTube. Based on the twins’ trajectory, we wouldn’t be surprised if they rise a few more ranks, either. But, as softly and kindly as I can say this, just because a channel ranks near the top doesn’t mean it ranks among the safest for kids.
Now, Stokes Twins is better than many we’ve reviewed a lot of their videos, despite the crazy nature, aren’t all that bad. But individual moments within certain videos can become rather inappropriate for children; allegations that the channel has stolen other creators’ content certainly don’t help things, either.
In other words, for us, we’re not fully stoked about the channel.
Kennedy Unthank studied journalism at the University of Missouri. He knew he wanted to write for a living when he won a contest for “best fantasy story” while in the 4th grade. What he didn’t know at the time, however, was that he was the only person to submit a story. Regardless, the seed was planted. Kennedy collects and plays board games in his free time, and he loves to talk about biblical apologetics. He’s also an avid cook. He thinks the ending of Lost “wasn’t that bad.”
