YouTuber Paul Harrell has announced his own death in a video that was recorded last year.
The content creator, an activist known for making videos about firearms and guns, died of pancreatic cancer, which was revealed in footage posted to his YouTube channel on Wednesday.
"If you're watching me, I'm dead," he began the video, which was titled: "I'm Dead."
The Oregon-based YouTuber got "right to the point" in the short video, where he explained that cancer had spread to his bones.
"We did catch it early but not as early as I had thought," he told his 1.17 million subscribers in the video, recorded in December 2023. "It has spread faster than I thought it would. My time is drawing very short."
The cancer had metastasized to his bones, causing them to "crumble" and led to him falling and fracturing his hip.
"You may have seen me recently using this crutch when I told you I broke my hip. Well, I did break my hip, but it wasn't because I was in any kind of accident, it was because the cancer spread my bones," he explained.
Harrell had instructed his editor, Brad Nelson, to upload the pre-recorded message in the event of his death.
"My time is drawing very short," he continued as he asked fans to continue to support the YouTube channel and Patreon page because his brother and some of the other crew planned to take it over and continue his work.
Harrell also asked his fans to ignore people who in the event of his death might "take the opportunity" to "lie about me and denigrate my character."
"So I would hope by now that you know these well enough to know what you should or shouldn't believe," he added.
The content creator concluded by saying his main goal in starting the channel was "to put out useful information."
"The final thing I would want to say is my sincere apologies. I had hoped that I would continue in this format the next 10, or even 15 years. And even once I was diagnosed, I'd hoped it would be here, two or three more years," Harrell said, adding that he only had a few months of life after his diagnosis, "and my apologies for that, it really makes me feel like I've let everybody down.
"So, not much more to say than that... I'm really glad we've had this opportunity to do all the stuff that we've done... as always, don't try this at home and thanks for watching."
The video then cut to his brother, Rob Harrell, officially confirming the YouTuber's passing.
"It was his wish that I maintained his legacy through this channel by continuing to put out high quality, educational content with a flare," he said, asking fans for some time to process Harrell's death before they start making new content.
"As we move through this together, I would ask everyone to keep any personal politics or religious beliefs out of any postings regarding Paul... I can't tell you what his beliefs were or where he ended up. All I can tell you is that he is now where a man belongs and will remain an inspiration."
Newsweek contacted Rob Harrell via email for comment.
The final portion of the video showed Brad Nelson speaking to the camera, talking of the "great privilege of having Paul in my life and having him as a friend."
"He's very generous and kind guy... he positively influenced many people's lives, including my own, and I'm very grateful for that," Nelson said.
Harrell was a gun rights activist who described his YouTube channel as "real firearms information for citizens."
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