YouTuber, Logan Paul, has come under fire recently for posting a video containing the body of an alleged suicide victim.

In the video, Paul and his friends travel to the Aokigahara Forest, better known as the “Suicide Forest,” in Japan.

The video was uploaded to YouTube where it reached Paul’s more than 15 million subscribers. Many of them are kids.

Last May, Louisiana came to realize how large Paul’s sphere of influence was when the city of Ruston agreed to let him become “Mayor for a Day.”

The ULM Hawkeye reached out to the mayor’s office in Ruston in the hopes to understand the decision-making process of the influencer.

Mayor’s assistant and city communications director, Kourtney Keim, said that when Paul’s producer and team first contacted them last spring, it was to film an episode for his show, “Logan Paul Vs.”

Initially, not much was known about the Youtuber. Mayor Ronny Walker tasked his employees with researching and vetting Paul.

“Let’s face it, I’m 66 and had no idea who Logan Paul was,” Mayor Walker said. An important factor in the decision to let Paul’s team film in Ruston was respect.

The producers and film crew assured everyone involved that Ruston would be portrayed in a positive light and with that, the project was a go.

The opportunity to reach a wider audience through Paul’s platform was one the city didn’t want to pass up.

“There was no way for us to have foreseen his future in social media and the actions he would take,” Keim said.

As for Ruston, the “Mayor for a Day” event was successful in the eyes of the public. There was a parade, which Paul rode with all over the city greeting fans along the way.

He talked and took photos with many people and even passed out pizza downtown.

Mayor Walker said the first thing he told Logan Paul was not to embarrass Ruston and felt he and his team upheld that promise.

Keim said that when the show was being filmed early last year, Paul had an entirely different production and film crew. After the show was finished filming, he moved on to other projects.

“We do not regret having him come here to Ruston, but we certainly do not condone his current actions,” Keim said.

“It is a disappointment to see his name in the spotlight for these reasons.”

In response to the video, YouTube has limited its current deals with Paul.

YouTube removed Paul from its Google Preferred Program, which lets brand advertisers sell ads amongst the top 5 percent of creators.

The money he can now make from ads has been drastically reduced.

YouTube also dropped Paul from their web series, “Foursome.”

Paul issued a written apology on Twitter about the decision to post the video, saying that he had never faced criticism like this before and should have stopped recording in that moment.

The once daily vlogger disappeared from social media saying he was “taking time to reflect.”

While some students at ULM accepted the disclaimers before the video as enough warning, others were shocked and disgusted by what they saw.

Senior psychology major, Rachel Holmes, said that she wasn’t a fan of Paul’s humor but knew of him from his start on Vine.

“He’s grown and dealt with internet content for long enough that he should have known he was making a risky move,” Holmes said.

She also brought up the question that if he didn’t post the video for views, which he claimed not to have done in his written apology, then what were his reasons.

There is currently no word on whether Logan Paul will return to social media, including YouTube.