It's Wednesday and in Mark Zuckerberg’s strangest hiring spree yet, the Meta boss is on the hunt not for a lifeguard, but for a “Beach Water Person.”

Today’s News

TIKTOK TALK

TikTok Shop is a top destination for discovery. (Photo illustration by Ezra Acayan/Getty Images)

67% of consumers go to TikTok Shop to discover new products and brands

The data: TikTok Shop is proving its value to small businesses in a big way. According to research spearheaded by GlobalData and commissioned by TikTok Shop, 67% of consumers turn to TikTok’s ecommerce hub as their go-to discovery engine for products and brands. That data point positions TikTok Shop as a more popular product discovery engine than Amazon, physical stores, and YouTube.

Small businesses have benefited the most from TikTok Shop’s meteoric rise. GlobalData found that, over the past year, 72% of the brands discovered by Shop users were small businesses that pull in less than $15 million of annual revenue. About 58% of surveyed consumers who discovered a small business on Shop later bought from that company on the platform.

According to TikTok, small businesses increased their Shop sales by 66% year-over-year in 2025, while the number of small businesses selling on the platform rose 25% year-over-year to reach 215,000. The power of creator recommendations has been a major boon for those companies. Per GlobalData, 70% of Shop consumers have purchased a creator-recommended product, and 73% have used the platform to find inspiration related to creator-backed products.

The approach: Of course, small businesses aren’t the only companies thriving on TikTok’s ecommerce hub. As TikTok Shop Head of Strategic Initiatives Patrick Nommensen told Modern Retail, “through the video and live streaming and community elements, there’s really a lot for brands of any size to be able to connect with the target audience. We really see it as an ecosystem and a platform where brands of all sizes can be successful.”

The broadness of that approach has lifted TikTok Shop’s bottom line. Between January and April of this year, the hub’s U.S. sales reached $6.75 billion (per Charm.io). That was nearly twice the equivalent figure from 2025.

HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰

Watch your favorite creators on Roku.

• Roku—a leading provider of free, ad-supported TV—has unveiled a new creator hub stocked with the biggest names from platforms like YouTube and Twitch. (Tubefilter)
  
  

• Kickstarter is returning to a more flexible policy on mature content following a wave of backlash from creators over the introduction of stricter guidelines. (Engadget)
  

  
  

• On Tuesday, OpenAI co-founder Andrej Karpathy revealed his decision to join Anthropic in an X post that has since attracted 13.6 million views. (TheNextWeb)
  
  

• As Meta moves away from similar security measures, Discord has announced that all voice and video calls on its platform now have end-to-end encryption. (Engadget)

X FACTOR

X is getting into the influencer marketing marketplace game.

X says it’s entering its “creator era” with a new sponcon marketplace

The “creator era”: In March, X revamped its “Creator Subscriptions," which it describes as a set of “powerful new tools to grow your subscribers and earn more.” One of those tools, “Exclusive Threads,” allows creators to paywall a string of posts.

Now, the platform is taking another stab at the creator economy with the launch of “Creator Connect,” a marketplace that hooks up brands and creators for sponcon deals. According to Global Head of Content Partnerships Mitchell Smith, that development is happening now because X is entering its “creator era as a platform, and really trying to build a platform that fosters a healthy creator economy.” 

Unsurprisingly, X’s vision for its creator era involves generative AI. Per The Hollywood Reporter, when a brand enters Creator Connect and wants to run a specific campaign, X will use AI to plow through thousands of creators’ text, video, and photo content, then identify which ones the brand should be working with. It’ll then reach out to those creators and see if they’re interested.

The context: X’s matchmaking marketplace is nothing new for our industry. (YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat, for instance, all have their own versions.) Platforms benefit from those marketplaces not by taking a cut of the resulting sponcon deals, but by showing off the caliber of their creators—and theoretically attracting advertisers willing to pay platforms directly for programmatic ads. 

In other words, the launch of Creator Connect means X thinks it has creators that brands will want to work with.

The platform said it’s already used the marketplace to arrange a couple of campaigns, including “one for a premium laptop company that wanted tech creators who were F1 enthusiasts, and a major movie studio for a recent horror film.” It’s also looking at partnerships around the upcoming World Cup.

THE BIZ

Data from The Influencer Marketing Factory says depth beats breadth.

The best creator campaigns are repeat collabs. YouTube is leading the way.

The report: Is there a “right way” for brands to work with creators? The Influencer Marketing Factory looked to answer that question with its 2026 Brand Deals Report.

To compile its study, the agency synthesized more than 300,000 promoted posts across YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram. On each of those platforms, at least 2,300 creators were involved in the measured campaigns.

The resulting data was clear. 63% of brand-creator relationships are one-off deals—but repeated collabs instill more audience trust and display stronger commercial signals. And to execute those recurring deals, YouTube is the place to go.

Less than half of the YouTube posts measured by The Influencer Marketing Factory were one-off engagements, and nearly 20% of those posts were part of long-running brand ambassadorships. For comparison, on TikTok, over 71% of the measured posts were one-offs, and fewer than 3% were part of ambassadorships.

The context: But before brands start deploying all their marketing dollars on YouTube, they should keep in mind that no platform is perfect. The issue of sponsorship disclosures is a key example. Less than one-third of measured posts on Instagram were properly disclosed and, while YouTube fared a bit better in that regard, its small creators still struggled. Under 20% of YouTube creators with 100,000 subscribers or less properly disclosed their brand partnerships.

The ultimate takeaway from the Brand Deals Report, then, is that repeat creator partnerships produce stronger results than one-off collabs across YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram. But since all campaigns come with their own strengths and weaknesses depending on where they’re deployed, the most effective ones move across multiple platforms and formats.

WATCH THIS 👀

Maya Higa is on a roll.

For Maya Higa, May will be a month to remember

The donation: Just one week after becoming the first Twitch streamer to deliver a TED Talk, Maya Higa has secured a $100,000 donation for her wildlife foundation. That chunk of change comes from fellow creator Jacksepticeye, who announced his decision to support Alveus Sactuary during an appearance on Higa’s channel.

The Irish YouTuber (aka Seán McLoughlin) surprised Higa with his donation after accompanying her on a livestreamed tour of the wildlife sanctuary/virtual education center. Check out the full stream here to get a peek at Alveus Sanctuary and find out what it’s all about.

Want to introduce your brand to Tubefilter’s audience? Sponsor the newsletter.

Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe here.​

Today's newsletter is from: Emily Burton, Drew Baldwin, Sam Gutelle, James Hale, and Josh Cohen.

It's Tuesday and here’s an AI collab we weren’t expecting. One day after greeting youths with the 6-7 sign, the pope is joining forces with the co-founder of Anthropic.

Today’s News

PLATFORM UPDATES

YouTube’s war on deepfakes is going global. (Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images for YouTube.)

YouTube’s deepfake-fighting tech is now open to all creators over 18

The tool: As the issue of deepfakes continues to intensify, YouTube is doubling down on creator protection.

The platform’s likeness detection technology—which locates AI-generated copies of human faces at scale—allows those who employ the tool to hunt down unauthorized deepfake videos. Until this week, access to that tech has been limited.

Certain members of the YouTube Partner Program got their hands on the tool shortly after it was revealed last year, while journalists received access this March. A month later, Hollywood studios began taking the product for a spin.

The expansion: Now, YouTube’s likeness detection tool is primed for its largest launch yet. As stated on a YouTube Help page, any eligible creator over the age of 18 will gain access to the tool “in the coming weeks.”

To use the feature as intended, creators will need to find the “Likeness” option in the content detection tab within YouTube Studio, verify their ID, and share a selfie video. After that, they’ll be able to locate unauthorized facsimiles, request removal of those videos, and tell their fans to be on high alert moving forward.

The wide rollout of likeness detection represents a firm statement of YouTube’s values. By keeping pace with the third-party services battling deepfakes, the platform is making it clear that its support of a “No Fakes” policy goes beyond mere lip service.

HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰

MrBeast’s primary hub isn’t the only channel climbing the charts.

• MrBeast is once again at the top of our weekly YouTube viewership chart. During the second full week of May, his main channel snagged 1.42 billion weekly views—bringing it to a lifetime total of 122 billion. (Tubefilter)
  
  

• As Meta prepares to begin cutting 8,000 jobs tomorrow, the company has announced plans to reassign 7,000 employees to work on new AI-related initiatives. (NDTV Profit)
  
  

• X will now limit unverified accounts to "50 original posts and 200 replies per day,” a significant drop from the previously maximum of 2,400 daily posts. (Engadget)
  
  

• While platforms like YouTube amp up likeness detection, Disney is facing a class action lawsuit over the use of facial recognition technology. (Engadget)

GOSPEL STATS 📈

Another week, another MrBeast challenge.

Top Branded Videos: Welcome to modern YouTube

If you’ve spent much time on YouTube, Gospel Stats’ latest ranking of most-viewed branded videos will be a smorgasbord of familiar names. MrBeast topped the charts by giving out $250K, Salish Matter hyped up her skincare collection, and even YouTube got in on the fun by sponsoring Sophie Silva.

🥇 #1. MrBeast x Bass Pro Shops: I Stranded 100 People In The Wilderness For $250,000 (106M views)
MrBeast‘s appearance during the 50th season of Survivor seems to have inspired him.  For this 40-minute video, the creator dumped 100 people in the wilderness to see how survivalists would stack up to amateurs until help arrived. On the bright side, at least those folks got some snazzy gear from the video’s sponsor, Bass Pro Shops.

🥈 #2. Jordan Matter (and Salish Matter) x Sincerely Yours: BEST FRIENDS vs COUPLE: The Truth Gets Exposed (20.6M views)
Like plenty of other Jordan Matter videos, this one centers on the relationship between his daughter Salish and her longtime friend Nidal. The video’s sponsor, however, represents a departure from recent uploads. Following the September 2025 launch of Salish’s skincare brand Sincerely Yours, most of her videos have been sponsored by Sephora. This time around, Sincerely Yours took over to promote an upcoming product launch party on May 30, which will welcome 2,000 hand-picked fans.

🎰 #4. Sophie Silva x YouTube: seeing how RED CARPET looks are made #sponsored @YouTube (3.6M views)
Skipping ahead to #4, this week’s wildcard video was sponsored by none other than YouTube. It’s not often that we see the platform itself sponsoring content. But this clip from Sophie Silva is a promo for the Met Gala, which YouTube streams live with Vogue hosting.

Check out the full branded ranking here and head over to Gospel Stats for more YouTube sponsorship insights.

TOP 50 • MOST SUBSCRIBED 

The Messinaldopocalyse would be a big win for YouTube soccer hubs.

YouTube soccer hubs are hoping for the World Cup match of the century

The fan frenzy: Soccer is always a sensation on YouTube Shorts. The upcoming FIFA World Cup, however, has the potential to send fans into a full-blown frenzy—especially if Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are involved.

Many of YouTube’s top soccer channels are centered around the duo’s heated rivalry, and for good reason. Hubs that compare Ronaldo and Messi often get millions of views per week. But for all of their showdowns, the two soccer pros have never met on the pitch at the World Cup. If that changes in 2026, it will be a huge moment for YouTube soccer channels.

Ronaldo’s Portugal is Group K for the upcoming tournament in North America, while Messi’s Argentina is in Group J. If Portugal wins its group while Argentina finishes third, the two superstars would face each other in a knockout match on July 3.

The channel: That path is far from a foregone conclusion, but channels like Ro7 and Si10 are already feeding off fans’ hopeful anticipation. Buoyed by pre-World Cup hype, the U.S.-based hub added 532,000 new subscribers during the second week of May, bringing it to #15 in our ranking of most-subscribed-to YouTube channels. Ro7 and Si10 has pinned its stock to Ronaldo-Messi hype, so if the two stars face each other, we’d expect the hub to move into the top five—at least.

Of course, channels like Ro7 and Si10 will continue to thrive even if the Messinaldopocalyse never arrives. Soccer content is crushing it on Shorts in the lead-up to the World Cup, and the numbers will continue to rise until it peaks during the tournament. But the size of that spike depends on Ronaldo and Messi. If the two aging GOATs can propel their respective countries to deep World Cup runs, the short-form numbers will skyrocket.

WATCH THIS 👀

Forget the next season of The Bachelor—we’re focused on penguin breeding season.

What if Love Island had 100% more penguins?

The penguin drama: Fans of romance-driven reality series are in for a feathery treat. Between seasons of Love Island and The Bachelor, an icier kind of drama is unfolding at the Loveland Living Planet Aquarium.

The Utah-based nonprofit has gathered hundreds of thousands of views on Instagram with Love on Thin Ice, a short-form series that follows the complicated romances and rivalries of its resident penguins. If you thought rose ceremonies got tense, just wait until you see a female penguin bow to a coupled-up male (we’re looking at you, Ava).

Want to introduce your brand to Tubefilter’s audience? Sponsor the newsletter.

Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe here.​

Today's newsletter is from: Emily Burton, Drew Baldwin, Sam Gutelle, James Hale, and Josh Cohen.

TOGETHER WITH

It's Monday and Fortnite’s latest Hollywood collab will give players a 10-minute sneak peek at The Mandalorian and Grogu before it hits theaters.

Today’s News

THE BIZ

StreamElements is in dire straits.

With a shutdown looming, StreamElements is seeking an acquisition

The search: A decade after its initial launch, StreamElements is reportedly on the hunt for a buyer as it prepares to cease operations and shut down its website.

According to GamesBeat, a StreamElements staffer discussed the streamer platform’s flagging operations in a Discord server used to coordinate sponsorships. The staffer reportedly stated that StreamElements is preparing to “close its doors,” with its website set to remain open for the next 30 days.

During that time, StreamElements users are advised to log in and save any desired assets. Outstanding sponsorship deals will be paid out.

The context: StreamElements started as one of several dashboards that allow streamers to add overlays to live broadcasts. As the company evolved, however, it set itself apart by bringing brand deals to its partners, sharing statistical insights from streamer culture, and prioritizing underrepresented creators.

That expansion was supported by several funding rounds, including a $100 million Series B led by SoftBank. In 2021, StreamElements also acquired gaming multi-channel network Paragon for an undisclosed sum.

After that, however, the company’s circumstances took a turn for the red. In 2023, StreamElements endured multiple rounds of layoffs as the tech industry at large began to tighten its belt. By January of this year, Co-Founder and CEO Or Perry was urging users to “keep it live” by contributing to a fundraising event. At the time, the exec said that his company supported a user base consisting of 23 million creators.

Now, as it looks to avert a potential shutdown, StreamElements is searching for an acquisition. A tweet from the company announced that it is “in positive discussions with potential acquirers and working to find the best path forward for creators, customers, and our team.”

🌟 SPONSORED 🌟

Tribeca Festival’s flagship brand storytelling summit is less than a month away

Tribeca X is just weeks away. 

From June 8 to 9, Tribeca Festival’s flagship brand storytelling program will unite leading media and marketing experts in NYC for two days of panels, keynotes, networking events, and screenings. 

Explore Tribeca X’s 2026 speaker lineup

What should be on your Tribeca X agenda?

1. Sit in on discussions with top executives and creators, including Kickstarter Co-Founder Yancey Strickler, Ariana Rodstein (Senior Producer, Fox Sports - Original Content), Cloud 23 Founder Brooklyn Peltz Beckham, and Chewed Up co-hosts Clinton Kelly and Michael Symon.
   
   

2. Attend the Tribeca X Awards Ceremony to witness the best storytelling in branded content, and celebrate the winners and nominees at an exclusive Cocktail Reception.
   
   

3. Visit the Tribeca X Networking Lounge to connect directly with leaders from film, media, brands, and culture and enjoy complimentary breakfast, lunch, and refreshment.

Passes to Tribeca X are on sale now. Visit the website to learn more:

HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰

Iron Lung will soon make its YouTube debut.

• Markiplier’s box office hit, Iron Lung, will arrive on YouTube starting May 31 just weeks after the creator discussed the surprisingly complicated process of making a film available for purchase on the platform. (Gizmodo)
  
  

• YouTube has announced that it will be “expanding likeness detection to all eligible creators” aged 18 and older “in the coming weeks.” (YouTube Help)
  

  
  

• Snap, YouTube, and TikTok have settled a first-of-its-kind lawsuit filed by the Breathitt County School District, which alleges that social media has financially burdened public schools by disrupting learning. (The Verge)
  
  

• Familee Day, a festival hosted by TikTok food reviewer Keith Lee in New Orleans, reportedly attracted more than 20,000 attendees over the weekend. (4WWL)

CREATOR COMMOTION

Another company emerges to turn creator IP into global franchises.

A new creator IP company is joining forces with stars like Alan Chikin Chow

The company: A new creator IP company plans to scale creator businesses into global brands by providing the infrastructure needed to pursue ambitious commercial ventures.

At launch, Volt Factor’s partners include Alan Chikin Chow (who has parlayed his chart-topping success into a sprawling production empire), That’s Amazing (a fraternal duo with nearly 2 billion views on their primary YouTube hub), and Twitch breakout star TheBurntPeanut.

Volt Factor will represent its clients’ global licensing rights, pursuing projects that will maximize revenue from underdeveloped IP.

The execs: Volt Factor is hardly the first company built around the idea of scaling creator IP. Billions of dollars of venture capital have supported entities like Candle Media, which has in turn unlocked retail opportunities for internet-famous brands like CoComelon.

In a crowded field, Volt Factor Co-Founders Elan Freedman and Lindsay Hampton hope to give the company a competitive edge. Freedman previously co-founded Electric Monster, which supercharges creator brands through IP development and other initiatives. Hampton, meanwhile, spent 14 years at YouTube; most recently, she served as the platform’s Global Head of Creator Engagement.

The two co-founders will get a helping hand from an advisory team filled with retail experts, including Jim Lee (who serves as President of Mark Rober’s CrunchLabs brand) and former execs from Hasbro and Nike.

LISTEN UP 🎙️

Joshua Cohen and Lauren Schnipper have the lowdown on Brandcast and more.

This week on the podcast…

The episode: On the latest installment of Creator Upload, host Joshua Cohen offers listeners an inside look from the David Geffen Theater after attending YouTube’s 2026 Brandcast.

Tune in to find out how YouTube is packaging creator-led shows for legacy advertisers, which new creator shows are coming to the platform, and what’s next for shopping features on connected TVs.

It’s all right here on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

The survey: Creator Upload wants your opinion! Take this survey to help us understand who’s tuning in and what you want more (or less) of from the show.

Want to introduce your brand to Tubefilter’s audience? Sponsor the newsletter.

Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe here.​

Today's newsletter is from: Emily Burton, Drew Baldwin, Sam Gutelle, James Hale, and Josh Cohen.

It's Sunday and here’s a handpicked selection of stories to give you a snapshot of trends, updates, business moves, and more from around the creator industry.

But first, Dunkin is following TikTok trends by introducing a 48-ounce “bucket” of coffee. TikTok already told us that men are always thinking about the Roman Empire. Now, they’ll be up so long that they’ll never stop thinking, period.

CREATOR COMMOTION

Maya Higa just became the first Twitch streamer to give a TED Talk on the mainstage.

Creators are breaking barriers and finding out what happens next

The TED Talk: Maya Higa is the first Twitch streamer to deliver a TED Talk on the mainstage. Higa adopted her typical conservationist message as she plugged her Alveus Animal Sanctuary in front of a packed house in Vancouver. After receiving a standing ovation, Higa described her TED presentation as “the most impactful experience of my life.” The animals she shelters may have their own ideas on that.

The influencer: A creator may be responsible for the launch of Substack’s gardening category. In a newsletter post, the green-thumbed influencer known as Carmen in the Garden wondered why Substack didn’t have a category dedicated to gardening content. The platform’s reply was apparently “you know what? That’s a great idea,” because Substack’s home and garden vertical is now live.

The Streisand effect: An accidental demonetization gave Tiny Grandma the Streisand effect. The adorable stop-motion animation hub found itself in trouble when its videos were incorrectly flagged as AI-generated content. That saga was resolved, and Tiny Grandma is now doing better than ever. Nothing can slow down this little kimchi-toting clay figure—not even a yellow dollar sign.

The return: Dhar Mann is thinking about “what happens next” with his company’s first podcast. Mann is maintaining his typically positive tone as he talks to guests about moments in their lives when they found themselves at a crossroads. The first episode of What Happens Next is slated to premiere on May 18.

THE BIZ

Spotify is adopting Apple’s podcast tech.

Spotify is adopting Apple’s tech and going head-to-head with YouTube

The copycat: Spotify likes Apple’s podcast technology so much that it’s adopting it for its own platform. As part of Apple’s podcast push, it introduced HLS (HTTP Live Streaming) technology, which makes the viewership of video podcasts more seamless. Spotify is now using that tech, too. In doing so, it will help creators expand reach while making cross-platform distribution more tenable.

The foundation: Susan Wojcicki’s family is honoring her memory by launching a foundation to research and detect lung cancer. Wojcicki tragically passed away less than two years after stepping down from her role as YouTube’s CEO. By establishing the Susan Wojcicki Foundation, the exec’s family will invest in early detection initiatives, with a particular focus on nonsmokers.

The partnership: Jomboy Media is the key to reaching younger baseball fans, and Under Armour is paying attention. The sportswear brand now has an official partnership with the irreverent baseball brand led by Jimmy O’Brien. As part of the deal, Under Armour will be the official sponsor of the Warehouse Games, Jomboy’s gauntlet of eclectic sports competitions.

The creator program: Target is linking up with LTK to relaunch its creator program. Target, like many brands, is setting up infrastructure that lets creators recommend items on personalized storefronts. Social shopping hub LTK is now involved with that effort, and that move could bring Target closer to the influencer recs it covets. A press release from the retailer claims that nearly 75% of U.S. consumers have purchased a product because of creator content.

The podcast data: Spotify is driving more consumption time than YouTube on podcast episodes. That claim comes from Podstock, which shared data comparing equivalent podcast episodes across Spotify and YouTube. The Spotify uploads averaged 1.5x more consumption time, and that finding held across 95% of the surveyed episodes.

MOVERS & SHAKERS

beehiiv’s podcast push is in full swing.

This week in the digital media biz…

The podcasting head: To double down on its podcast push, beehiiv is bringing in Ainsely Rossitto. After landing roles at Paramount and NPR, Rossitto will be Head of Podcasts at a company best known for its newsletter-building tools. In a statement, beehiiv CEO Tyler Denk discussed the “huge opportunity podcasts present.” "We are really putting a lot of firepower behind podcasts,” Denk said.

The Nothing exec: Shavone Charles’ post-TikTok career is taking her to Nothing. Charles, an exec and creator with experience across the social media industry, left her post at TikTok last year. For her next move, she’s headed to London-based youth culture brand Nothing, where she’ll be Global Head of Communications for a company that works with tastemakers like Charli XCX.

The Smosh CCO: Smosh looked to the world of MTV to find its first Chief Content Officer. In a newly-created role, MTV Entertainment Studios vet Cory Midgarden will oversee digital content, live events, casting, and other artistic matters for a comedy brand that has been operating on YouTube for more than 20 years. Midgarden will report to Smosh’s CEO, Alessandra Catanese.

WATCH THIS 👀

MatPat went back to the good old days.

MatPat revisited the ‘90s for an NFL reveal

The NFL collab: Matthew Patrick (aka MatPat) just traveled back to the 1990s to tell us who the Cleveland Browns will play next season.

With each passing NFL preseason, the slate of schedule release videos gets wackier and more creative. This year, the Browns paid homage to ‘90s VHS videos with a schedule reveal featuring MatPat, a gridiron take on Street Fighter, and not nearly enough sadness for a Browns-themed video.

Want to introduce your brand to Tubefilter’s audience? Sponsor the newsletter.

Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe here​.

Today's newsletter is from: Emily Burton, Drew Baldwin, Sam Gutelle, and Josh Cohen.

It's Friday, and the voice cast has been revealed for CoComelon: The Movie. Can you guess which roles SZA and Nicholas Hoult will play?

Today’s News

CREATOR COMMOTION

YouTube is crossing the pond to train creators. (Photo via Getty Images.)

YouTube and the BBC are launching a U.K. creator economy training program

The response: Last year, a survey conducted by Public First revealed widespread discontent among British creators. 56% of survey respondents claimed they’re unable to impact government decisions that affect their livelihood, while 43% said they felt unrecognized within the broader creative industry. Only 17% said they have enough access to skills and training, and a mere 7% said they have proper access to capital and loans.

In response, YouTube pledged to provide more professional services for creators in the U.K. Now, the platform is living up to that promise.

YouTube has teamed up with the BBC and the National Film and Television School (NFTS) to launch a multi-city training program catered to creators and other digital media professionals. Through a nationwide slate of workshops and events, YouTube and the Beeb aim to incubate a new generation of digital-savvy creatives.

The program: The program, which kicked off in Birmingham on May 14, will begin with a cohort of 150 pupils. Those participants include not only digital-native creators, but also TV producers and journalists.

Workshops will take place at BBC hubs in all four U.K. countries, where participants will benefit from both NFTS’ “world-class technical mastery” and YouTube’s prominent position in the creator world. ScreenSkills, a professional organization for jobseekers in the digital arts, is also supporting the initiative.

HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰

TikTok is sending 30 creators to the World Cup.

• TikTok has assembled 30 creators from four different continents to report directly from the 2026 FIFA World Cup as its Creator Correspondents. (Tubefilter)
  
  

• Netflix has reportedly launched a new studio for the creation of AI-powered short-form animated content. (Engadget)
  
  

• According to YouTube, viewers now watch more than 2 billion hours of YouTube Shorts on TV screens every month. (TechCrunch)
  
  

• A new feature of Meta’s Ray-Ban Display smart glasses will allow wearers to write with hand gestures while using WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, and “native Android and iOS messaging.” (The Verge)

GOSPEL STATS 📈

Surprisingly, this isn’t an unusual question for Facebook Marketplace buyers.

Top Branded Videos: Family, anime, and Facebook Marketplace food

Gospel Stats’ latest ranking of most-viewed branded YouTube videos offers a microcosmic view of the platform, with family skits, questionable food, and fan content all well-represented. First up…

🥇 #1. theplumpcover x C4 Energy: 1. ACT A DAMN FOOL. @c4energy @c4partner #meme #family #dad #mom #skit #funny (21.8M views)
In case you missed the @s, theplumpcover’s latest meme-filled Short was sponsored by C4 Energy—and it wasn’t alone. In total, C4 paid for four videos during the week that was. We see a lot of energy brands advertising with creators, and it makes sense. YouTubers need fuel to power their projects, and energy brands are hoping viewers will want the same jolt as their favorite creator.

🥈 #2. Mangaka Brandon Chen x Crunchyroll: The Creator of Full Metal Alchemist has a new Anime on @crunchyroll! #ad #Crunchyrollpartner (15.4M views)
Fullmetal Alchemist is widely considered one of the manga series of all time, but its creator, Hiromu Arakawa, has seen a quieter reception for her post-FMA works. Crunchyroll aims to fix that through partnerships with YouTubers like Mangaka Brandon Chen, whose latest video highlights Arakawa’s Yomi no Tsugai series. The manga’s anime adaptation just came out, and Crunchyroll wants people to tune in on its platform.

🎰 #662. Edvasian x Zocdoc: The Insane World of Facebook Marketplace Food (266.3K views)
There’s a reason people who sell food have to be licensed, and that reason starts with E and ends with coli. But despite the risk of potential lawsuits, it’s clear from Edvasian’s new video that questionable Facebook Marketplace meals abound. Luckily, buyers of those delicacies can find in-network healthcare through Edvasian’s sponsor, Zocdoc.

Check out the full branded ranking here and head over to Gospel Stats for more YouTube sponsorship insights.

THE BIZ

A new exec has entered the sandbox. (Photo by Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images.)

Roblox just hired its first Chief Growth Officer

The new hire: Roblox may have a reputation as a haven for Gen A, but 26% of its U.S.-based players are now legal adults. In fact, the sandbox’s 18+ user base has grown 50% year-over-year. That’s a big deal for Roblox’s bottom line, since 18+ players spend 50% more money in-game than their younger counterparts.

To chase that disposable income and engagement, Roblox recently launched a major initiative where it’ll pay developers more if they make “novel games” targeted at adults. Now, the platform has also hired John Ciancutti as its first Chief Growth Officer.

Ciancutti comes to Roblox from Amazon, where he served as General Manager for the company’s live radio app Amp and VP of Consumer and Technology for Amazon Music. Before his tenure at Amazon, the exec founded audio news service 60dB. That company sold to Google in 2017, where Ciancutti himself ended up working in senior product and strategy roles in Search. He was also Director of Engineering at Facebook and spent 13 years at Netflix in various roles, including VP of Product Engineering.

The context: As he moves on to spearhead Roblox’s discovery team, Ciancutti told BI that targeting older players will be a focus of his. He also aims to push Roblox internationally and incorporate “a more diverse set of experiences on the platform,” BI reports.

Those ambitions don’t come without challenges. Roblox recently lowered its 2026 revenue forecast as it invests in child safety improvements, including age verification for chats. Those improvements are a vital addition to the platform; as of now, Roblox is facing over 140 federal lawsuits following numerous incidents of adult users preying on children.

Anecdotal reports, however, suggest that age verification has had some impact on social traffic. Roblox’s own numbers show DAUs dropped from 144 million in Q4 2025 to 132 million in Q1 2026.

WATCH THIS 👀

It’s time to eat some rocks.

Tom Scott’s U.K. tour included a stop at a candy factory

The tour: U.S. consumers might associate rock candy with sugary, artificially-colored crystals—but that’s not what Tom Scott’s latest video is about. During his tour of England, the un-retired YouTuber made a stop at the John Bull Rock Factory. As Scott explained, the “rock” created at John Bull is “like a candy cane but a bit more brittle…with letters all the way through it.”

Those letters usually spell out the name of some idyllic seaside town, but thanks to Scott’s tour, some lucky candy shoppers are likely to break open their rock haul to find the name “Tom Scott.”

Want to introduce your brand to Tubefilter’s audience? Sponsor the newsletter.

Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe here.​

Today's newsletter is from: Emily Burton, Drew Baldwin, Sam Gutelle, James Hale, and Josh Cohen.

TOGETHER WITH

It's Thursday and with 250 million monthly users subscribed to Netflix’s ad-driven tier, the streamer’s ads now reach ~3% of the world’s population. How’s that for a stat?

Today’s News

BRANDCAST BUZZ

YouTube went big for Brandcast 2026. (Photo by our very own Joshua Cohen)

At Brandcast, YouTube is backing creators—and their ambitious shows

The presentation: This year’s Brandcast truly feels like a TV upfront.

For the 2026 edition of its annual presentation to advertisers, YouTube unveiled a packed slate of creator-led programming from stars like Kareem Rahma, Jesser, HopeScope, Dude Perfect, Alex Cooper, Trevor Noah, and Cleo Abram. (You can check out the full lineup here.) And while YouTube isn’t house-producing those 20-odd shows, it does have a team working to match them with brands for expansive deals.

Ideally, those partnerships would include three things: (1) sponcon integrated into the creator’s series, (2) separate ads made by the creator for the brand, and (3) the brand running additional programmatic ads across the creator’s channel.

Once a series debuts, YouTube will grant it even more special treatment by building upon Shows, an invite-only UX that gives some channels a streaming-service-style glow-up and boosts their content to 10% of YouTube users “in select countries.”

The ad products: YouTube’s presentation also featured key advertising announcements, including the unveiling of a new masthead product that “allows advertisers to showcase their core hero creative alongside a custom-curated shelf of videos” (per YouTube). The platform cited Adelaide data showing that, in the U.S., the YouTube masthead ad inventory is 46.6% more likely to capture attention than similar premium ad placements across other platforms.

YouTube also announced “Custom Sponsorships” (an AI ad product that “dynamically curates themed content packages for brands to align with at scale”) and a new “Buy with Google Pay” system that lets CTV viewers buy advertised products directly on their TV screens. 

According to YouTube, that particular development follows a 200% increase in CTV ad conversions from Q1 2025 to Q1 2026. Also along those lines, the platform debuted an “Affiliate Partnership Boost” where creator-made videos that link out to products can get more exposure “to drive incremental affiliate sales and creator earnings from YouTube Shopping commission.”

🌟 SPONSORED 🌟

Q&A with JT Barnett: Gearing up for LIONS Creators 2026

Cannes Lions is just around the corner, and LIONS Creators Ambassador JT Barnett is gearing up for a week packed with creator conversations, culture-defining panels, and industry networking. Here’s what he’s looking forward to most:

What excites you about coming to the Festival as a LIONS Creators Ambassador?
Being part of such a historic Festival that is positioning itself in the center of culture today.

How are you preparing for the Festival? 
A lot of planning! I’ve been organizing meetings, mapping out events, and thinking through content opportunities so I can make the most of the week and capture everything happening on the ground in Cannes.

What LIONS Creators sessions are you most looking forward to? Is there a specific speaker that you are excited to hear from?
I’m especially excited for ‘Greenlight Your Brand: Step Inside a Billion-View Studio’, with Dhar Mann, Jessica Williams from Spotify and Fabiola Torres from GAP. I’m also looking forward to ‘Group Chats Powered by Adobe: How to Scale Content and Reach New Audiences,’ featuring Emily Sunderg - Feed Me and many other creative leaders.

Find out who’s on the 2026 programme.  

LIONS Creators | 22-26 June 2026 | Cannes, France

HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰

Stephen Curry is putting students in the spotlight. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images.)

• Stephen Curry and Erick Payton‘s Unanimous Media is teaming up with Hard Carry Media to launch a new media venture that will operate as a sports content platform centered around NIL talent. (Tubefilter)
  
  

• X has announced the rollout of a new History tab where iOS users can access their “Bookmarks, Long Videos, Articles and Likes.” (Engadget)
  
  

• LinkedIn is reportedly laying off 5% of its staff in an effort to scale back “investments in some areas including marketing campaigns, vendor spend, customer events and underutilized office space.” (Engadget)
  
  

• Days after sunsetting encrypted DMs on Instagram, Meta has announced a new Incognito Chat feature that will allow Meta AI users to interact with its chatbot in “a secure environment.” (Gizmodo)

MONEY MOVES

BuzzFeed is changing hands. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images.)

A $120 million deal will give BuzzFeed a new owner—and a new CEO

The acquisition: Jonah Peretti’s tenure as the CEO of BuzzFeed has come to an end. Byron Allen—a comedian-turned-media mogul whose holdings include The Weather Channel and a multitude of local TV stations—will be the next exec to lead the millennial-coded media company.

Allen Family Digital, an arm of Allen’s sprawling media empire, will pay $120 million to acquire 52% (a controlling stake) of BuzzFeed. Peretti will stay on as BuzzFeed’s President of Artificial Intelligence, a role that will allow the co-founder to continue developing the AI-powered games and love stories that have served as the latest chapters in the 19-year-old company’s history.

The background: BuzzFeed once carried enough influence that it reportedly turned down a $650 million acquisition offer from Disney. But that was a different time, and the media company has since endured multiple rounds of layoffs while also watching its roster of in-house talent winnow.

To stay afloat, BuzzFeed jettisoned several of its subsidiaries. NTWRK paid $108 million to buy the pop culture publication Complex, and Hot Ones home First We Feast sold for $82.5 million. Now, this latest deal will allow BuzzFeed to negotiate its debt while giving Allen another property to mold into a multiplatform brand.

The company’s new CEO plans to turn it into a player in fields like streaming, user-generated content, and (through its subsidiary HuffPost) local news. “As of this moment,” Allen said on a conference call, “BuzzFeed is officially chasing YouTube and the other big tech platforms.”

CREATOR COMMOTION

iShowSpeed is one creator at the center of the viewbot controversy.

In the wake of iShowSpeed’s viewbot drama, what happens to the Twitch record books?

The controversy: Earlier this week, the streamer Jynxzi hosted a League of Legends event that got more viewership than most broadcasts from the game’s professional circuit. Or did it?

Jynxzi gathered 40 top LoL streamers for an eight-hour marathon tournament that peaked at 920,000 concurrent viewers (according to data from Esports Charts). That was a higher sum than the combined peak viewership of three major LoL events that occurred earlier this year.

Once upon a time, that kind of viewership would have drawn widespread accolades—but in 2026, the streaming community is mired in a viewbotting controversy that makes it hard to take big numbers at face value.

The viewbot discourse hit a fever pitch during iShowSpeed‘s trip to the Dominican Republic, when he hit a seemingly record-breaking total of two million concurrent viewers. That number ultimately turned out to be fool’s gold, with Speed himself admitting that his DR viewership had been juiced. Fellow creator xQc theorized that it wasn’t Speed himself doing the botting, but fans adding artificial viewership on his behalf.

The big picture: In response to the drama, Twitch CEO Dan Clancy announced a new policy that caps the concurrent viewership of streamers accused of viewbotting. As that policy takes hold, the industry is left facing some tough questions. For one, how do you evaluate a record-setting stream when the veracity of viewership numbers is constantly in doubt?

That brings us back to Jynxzi. The viewership volume for his LoL event is impressive, but it makes more sense to focus on the cultural impact of his gaming content. His recent chess streams, for example, caused the game’s traffic to spike (per Twitch Tracker data). Some of those views may have been illegitimate, but the overall trend isn’t.

At the end of the day, viewership numbers may jump off the screen—but fan engagement is the truest indicator of influence.

WATCH THIS 👀

Home is where the liminal space is.

Can we interest you in a tour of the Backrooms?

The tour: A24’s Backrooms movie will hit theaters in just over two weeks, bringing one of the internet’s favorite creepypasta sensations to the big screen. And in the meantime, Blake Rosier is here to sell you on the actual Backrooms.

The YouTube comedian’s latest video casts him in the role of a realtor giving a house tour of the Backrooms—which he optimistically refers to as “an open concept rolling floor plan.” There’s only so much you can do to pass off an unsettling liminal space as a charming six-bedroom abode, but Rosier’s neon red Crocs do a pretty good job of evening out the vibes.

Want to introduce your brand to Tubefilter’s audience? Sponsor the newsletter.

Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe here.​

Today's newsletter is from: Emily Burton, Drew Baldwin, Sam Gutelle, James Hale, and Josh Cohen.

It’s Wednesday and Spotify is celebrating 20 years of streaming with its biggest Wrapped yet—one that covers users’ entire listening history.

Today’s News

ON THE GO

TikTok has the travel bug.

TikTok will let you book vacations from the For You Page

The travel hub: If your For You Page is filled with exciting locales from around the world, a new hub is here to replace your FOMO with a dream getaway.

Through TikTok Go—a platform built on influencer recs and powered by partnerships with major booking services—travel videos will link directly to sites like Booking.com, Expedia, and Viator. Without leaving the app, users will be able to view details and check availability for hotels and attractions on their FYPs.

The official announcement of TikTok Go came from TikTok USDS Joint Venture, the entity formed out of the deal brokered by President Trump.

The context: TikTok’s travel industry aspirations are nothing new. Beginning in 2024, a Southwest Airlines campaign allowed TikTok users to buy plane tickets in the app. Then, in 2025, TikTok Go emerged as a sort of affiliate marketing platform through which creators could earn rewards by filming videos in specific locales or hotel rooms. A Booking.com integration gave viewers even more opportunities to get in on the travel planning.

Gen Z-facing travel content has also gotten a boost thanks to creators like iShowSpeed, who has embarked on world tours that highlight local attractions. Expedia’s partnership with Speed authored a new playbook for Gen Z-facing travel promotions, and TikTok is now writing its own chapter.

HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰

Don’t know what your teen is into? Ask Instagram. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images.)

• Instagram is amping up Teen Accounts with a new feature that will keep parents up-to-date on the “general topics their teens engage with.” (The Verge)
  
  

• Threads has announced an experimental new Meta AI account that answers questions about conversations on its platform—but some users aren’t happy that the account can’t be blocked. (The Verge)
  
  

• OpenAI is facing yet another lawsuit related to the death of a teen ChatGPT user. (Ars Technica)
  
  

• Viola Davis, Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep, and other A-list actors are backing The Human Consent Standard, a new licensing standard that would inform AI systems if they need to pay for certain works and likenesses. (The Verge)

TOP 50 • MOST SUBSCRIBED

Nat Cervera is the queen of unexpected challenge videos.

YouTube challenges are becoming more extreme

The creator: Once upon a time, viral YouTube challenges were as simple as stacking a lot of cups or mastering tricky basketball shots. Decades later, however, creators hoping to stand out in today’s competitive YouTube environment face the herculean task of outdoing 20 years of one-upsmanship.

Enter Nat Cervera. The Mexican creator offers a wide variety of videos on her namesake YouTube channel, but her extreme challenges pull in more views than her other Shorts. If anyone plans on completing a more impressive feat than her, they’ll need to find a salt hotter than the world’s hottest salt or extend her all-day Disney movie marathon into a 48-hour event.

The virality of those challenges has helped Cervera secure collaborations with the biggest stars on YouTube and beyond. Fellow Mexican chart topper Ricky Limón, for instance, shows up in one of her most popular Shorts.

Cervera snagged 230K subscribers during the week of May 4. Data from Gospel Stats

The stats: Extreme challenges may be effective at drawing viewers, but they aren’t free of controversy. Creators like Norme have already pushed the genre so far that it has spawned ethical concerns. How long will it be before human limitations turn unprecedented endurance-based accomplishments into a thing of the past?

That may be a question at the forefront of some creators’ minds, but Cervera’s efforts to learn Korean in an hour and make shockingly large food items land on the more benign end of the challenge spectrum. Fans seem happy enough with those videos, too; in total, Cervera added 230,000 new subscribers during the week that was, pushing her from 85th place in our subscriber ranking all the way up to 27th.

TOP 50 • MOST VIEWED

News18 MP Chhattisgarh keeps regional language speakers in the know.

Indian news hubs are climbing the YouTube charts amid the war in Iran

The news boom: In recent months, Indian channels have accounted for about half of all entrants in our weekly ranking of the top 50 most-viewed YouTube channels.

That trend largely stems from the war in Iran. As we noted in April, India is one of the countries most affected by the conflict. Many of its ships travel through the Strait of Hormuz, and the global fuel crisis has altered life for the country’s residents.

As a result, most of the Indian channels making their Global Top 50 debuts are news hubs. While South Asian family channels like Anaya Kandhal and KL BRO Biju Rithvik still occupy their usual spots near the top of the ranking, they’ve been joined by popular stations like ABP NEWS and NDTV India.

The channel: Both of those news outlets offer headlines in Hindi, but News18 MP Chhattisgarh—an offshoot of chart regular News18—takes a different approach. In particular, the secondary News18 channel serves residents of Chhattisgarh, an Indian state defined by its namesake language.

News18 MP Chhattisgarh earned 354.4 million weekly views during the first full week of May, propelling it to #44 in the Global Top 50. While Chhattisgarh happens to be a hotbed for Indian YouTube creators, that traffic is most likely tied to the channel’s ability to reach speakers of the state’s primary local language. YouTube offers a rare outlet for regional languages that are otherwise marginalized in the national media landscape, and both small creators and large media organizations are taking advantage of that opportunity.

WATCH THIS 👀

It’s a Smosh vs. Dropout showdown.

Dropout promoted its Game Changer board game with a Smosh crossover

The collab: We wrote last week about the launch of a Kickstarter campaign for Dropout’s upcoming Game Changer: Home Edition board game. So far, that campaign has blown past its $40,000 goal by about $3.6 million (and counting).

A multimillion-dollar fundraising total is nothing to sneeze at, but Dropout isn’t resting on its laurels. To promote Game Changer: Home Edition, the company sponsored a Smosh video that pitted Smoshers Arasha Lalani and Angela Giarratana against Dropout stars Katie Marovitch and Rekha Shankar. 

Check out their playthrough of the game here.

Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe here.​

Want to introduce your brand to Tubefilter’s audience? Sponsor the newsletter.

Today's newsletter is from: Emily Burton, Drew Baldwin, Sam Gutelle, James Hale, and Josh Cohen.

It's Tuesday, and Papa John’s is getting in on drone delivery. The catch: the iconic pizza chain won’t actually be dropping off pizza.

Today’s News

MONEY MOVES

TikTok is looking to get into the subscription revenue game.

Tired of seeing ads on TikTok? That’ll be five bucks, please.

The ad-free tier: TikTok is following in YouTube’s footsteps with the launch of “TikTok Ad-Free,” a subscription that costs £3.99/month (or roughly $5.50).

Like YouTube Premium, TikTok Ad-Free releases viewers from the burden of seeing ads. The main difference here is that YouTube Premium offers other perks—including downloads and background play—while TikTok’s paid offering is primarily dedicated to an ad-free experience. 

As the £3.99/month price tag implies, it’s also currently restricted to U.K. users (who additionally must be 18+ to subscribe).

The industry context: Kris Boger, the U.K. Managing Director at TikTok, said the goal with Ad-Free is to “[give] people greater control over their experience” on the platform. The exec also preemptively addressed potential concerns from advertisers regarding reduced reach.

Matt Navarra offered a less positive take on the subscription. The social media analyst told the BBC that TikTok Ad-Free is yet another example of a platform “putting a monthly price on stepping outside of the ad-targeting machine” and maintaining personal data privacy.

It’s true that YouTube and TikTok aren’t the only social platforms to introduce zero-ad subscriptions. Instagram, Snapchat, and X have all introduced paid plans, adding to today’s seemingly endless array of subscriptions and consumers’ mounting ad fatigue.

HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰

Inside the Texas State Capitol, some lawmakers think Netflix is up to no good with your data.

• Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing Netflix over allegations that the streaming service earns "billions of dollars every year from secretly selling consumer data.” (Engadget)
  
  

• Peacock will release two unscripted Bravo microdramas, which will be available to subscribers in the form of vertical video episodes lasting around 60-90 seconds each. (TechCrunch)
  
  

• Discord has announced Nitro Rewards, which will offer Nitro subscribers perks like access to the base tier of Xbox Game Pass and discounts on gaming hardware from a number of brands. (TechCrunch)
  
  

• A lawsuit filed by the spouse of a Florida State University mass shooting victim accuses OpenAI of offering the alleged shooter "input and assistance” through ChatGPT. (Engadget)

GOSPEL STATS 📈

Square x MrBeast tops the most-viewed sponsored videos of the week.

Top Branded Videos: Who’s hungry?

Gospel Stats’ latest ranking of most-viewed branded YouTube videos begins and ends with some serious food challenges—plus a generous sprinkling of murder. One of those videos, of course, was orchestrated by frequent chart-topper MrBeast. (We’ll let you guess whether that particular clip documents a murder or a cash-fueled competition).

🥇 #1. MrBeast x Square: Last To Leave The Grocery Store, Wins $250,000 (130.5M views)
MrBeast’s latest challenge promised $250,000 to the random shopper who could live in a grocery store longer than all the others roped into the competition. That 45-minute chronicle was sponsored by Square, which the video description praises for “supporting neighborhood businesses like The Bread Lady, Simply Natural Creamery, Blackbeard Coffee, and Blue Ox Games.”

🥈 #2. Dr Insanity x BetterHelp: Cop Runs Into Secret Killer Dumping Body Parts In River (14.4M views)
We’re not sure we could think up a more unexpected pairing than Dr Insanity and BetterHelp, but here we are. The online therapy provider was the sponsor behind Dr Insanity’s latest police footage-fueled true crime story, which explained how 70-year-old Idaho resident Alan Bruce was caught attempting to conceal evidence of a murder.

🎰 #1,978. Strictly Dumpling x Surfshark VPN: Eating 7-11 BREAKFAST for an ENTIRE WEEK in Japan! (386.6K views)
This week’s wildcard video took a different approach to food challenges than MrBeast’s grocery store sleepover. With the backing of Surfshark VPN, Simply Dumpling dared himself to eat breakfast items from 7-11 every day for a week.

Check out the full branded ranking here and head over to Gospel Stats for more YouTube sponsorship insights.

THE LAST ACT

The fans-pay-to-watch-beloved-series-finale-in-theaters phenomenon is now officially a thing.

The Amazing Digital Circus finale hit $7.5M in theater presales weeks before its debut

The hype: The Amazing Digital Circus has already sold $7.5 million worth of tickets for its grand finale, which will hit over 5,000 theaters in 90 countries.

TADC was created by writer/animator/songwriter Gooseworx and released on YouTube by Sydney-based studio Glitch Productions. The first episode dropped in October 2023 and was followed by seven other segments, which have collectively racked up over 1.2 billion views.

Based on that fan attention, Glitch decided to give the series finale (called “The Last Act”) a special theater release through Fathom Entertainment, which told IndieWire that “The Last Act” broke its presale records by hitting $7.5 million (and counting).

With Fathom, Glitch expects “The Last Act” to go out to more than 2,100 theaters in the U.S. alone. It’ll also get its own custom popcorn bucket.

The context: In December 2025, Stranger Things paved the way for streaming finales in cinemas, hitting more than 620 theaters. Over 1.1 million fans RSVPed to secure seats across 3,500 sold-out showtimes. While the admissions themselves were technically free to avoid residual complications, the mandatory purchase of concession vouchers resulted in $25 million to $30 million in revenue for theater owners over the two-day New Year's run.

5,000+ screens across 90 countries is a sizable rollout, but Lerdwichagul told IndieWire that his team was only able to get “The Last Act” to 40-50% of countries that wanted to host it. Glitch explained that limitation in a recent X post, saying, “If there’s been any theatre cancellations or an inability to enter a region, we want you to know that we’ve been trying our best. There’s ratings compliance, security policy and legal rules specific to EACH country and theatre chains that we are trying to navigate around the clock.”

The fact that “The Last Act” won’t be available in every theater globally—and that its theatrical release comes 15 days before it drops on YouTube—has sparked intense backlash from fans who feel they’re being gatekept by ticket costs and/or geographic limitations. Even so, it’s clear from the finale’s presale success that fans who can support the theatrical release are happy to do so.

WATCH THIS 👀

The New York Times game is getting its own game show.

Wordle is getting its own NBC show

The game show: During the pandemic, an online word game created by Josh Wardle became a viral sensation. Wardle eventually sold Wordle to The New York Times, which has continued to offer players a fresh word puzzle every day of the year. Now, fans will get to experience the highs and lows of Wordle in a whole new way.

Four years after Jimmy Fallon successfully played the game on an episode of The Tonight Show, the late-night star has announced a Wordle game show that will be hosted by TODAY’s Savannah Guthrie and distributed by NBC. Fallon will serve as a producer on the show.

Want to introduce your brand to Tubefilter’s audience? Sponsor the newsletter.

Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe here.​

Today's newsletter is from: Emily Burton, Drew Baldwin, Sam Gutelle, James Hale, and Josh Cohen.

TOGETHER WITH

It's Monday, and Amazon Prime Video is entering its TikTok era with the launch of its very own short-form video feed.

Today’s News

HOUSE OF MOUSE

Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro is all in on Verts. (Photo by Ricardo Moreira/Getty Images for Disney.)

Disney says short-form is "driving deeper engagement"

The fresh feed: In his first earnings call as the House of Mouse’s CEO, Josh D’Amaro praised “Verts,” the TikTok-y vertical feed Disney+ rolled out earlier this year. He said it’s “already driving deeper engagement” with Disney’s various IPs.

Verts launched with a content library mostly comprised of clips from its movies and TV shows. But, crucially, Disney also sourced a handful of videos from content creators that focus on new franchise releases like Predator: Badlands and the live-action Lilo & Stitch.

The creator edge: Apparently, it's going well. D’Amaro said Disney plans to “advance that work [with content creators] in the months ahead.

Those advancements won't just be about pumping content in to the Disney+ app, though. The flow will run the other way, too. D’Amaro said Disney also plans to "[make] sure that our IP shows up in relevant ways across social platforms.”

Of course, that brings us back to Gen Z and Gen Alpha—aka the ears (and attention spans) Disney hopes to reach with short-form.

Basically, Disney has figured out what YouTube was talking about years ago. Modern fans are die-hard passionates, and when you build digital hubs for them to engage with art they love, you can bet on significant engagement.

Now, all that’s left for Disney to do is make art that fans will actually care about.

🌟 SPONSORED 🌟

Celebrate Tribeca Festival’s 25th anniversary with Bruce Springsteen, Robert De Niro, and other top stars

The 25th annual Tribeca Festival is shaping up to be a star-studded affair. 

Since its founding, the Festival has served as a launchpad for visionary filmmakers and artists by championing storytellers across film, television, music, talks, podcasts, and more. 

This year, a special programming slate will honor that history with talks, reunions, and tributes featuring your favorite actors, musicians, and more, including…

• Bruce Springsteen, who will receive the 2026 Harry Belafonte Voices for Social Justice Award
  
  

• Katy Perry, who will participate in a live conversation following the world premiere of Katy Perry: The Lifetimes Tour – Live From Paris
  
  

• Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese, who will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Taxi Driver with a post-screening conversation
  
  

• Director Sharon Maguire and Renée Zellweger, who will celebrate the 25th anniversary of Bridget Jones’s Diary
  
  

• Malik Elassal, Lucy Freyer, Jack Innanen, Amita Rao, and Owen Thiele, who star in FX’s new comedy series, Adults

Tickets to the 25th Tribeca Festival are available now.

Attendees will also have the opportunity to hear from Paul Rudd, NBA Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade, Grammy-winning writer/producer Finneas, BAFTA-nominated composer Anthony Willis, Keke Palmer, and Whoopi Goldberg as part of the 2026 Storytellers Series.

Tribeca Festival will return to New York from June 3-14.

HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰

TikTok’s AI descriptions might need some workshopping. (Photo via Getty Images.)

• TikTok is reversing course on its AI-generated video descriptions in the wake of several memorable errors, including one description that referred to creator Charli D’Amelio as “a collection of various blueberries.” (BBC)

• French prosecutors have opened a criminal investigation into Elon Musk and X following an initial probe into sexually explicit deepfakes generated by Grok. (Ars Technica)

• Meta is facing a $50 million lawsuit over the death of a teenager who was allegedly murdered after enduring weeks of harassment on Instagram. (New York Post)

PLATFORM UPDATES

Twitch CEO Dan Clancy has thoughts on viewbots. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images for Semafor World Economy.)

Twitch is punishing viewbotters by capping their concurrent viewership

The policy: Last year, Twitch CEO Dan Clancy promised that the platform would take a stronger approach to regulating the “thousands of small streamers” who use inflated view counts to generate “bogus revenue.”

The necessity of that promised escalation was backed up by a whitepaper published by Streams Charts, which found that Q2 2025 was the first quarter when at least 10% of Twitch accounts with at least 50 average quarterly viewers “displayed clear signs of persistent viewbotting.”

Now, Clancy has announced the platform’s solution to viewbots. In an X post, the CEO revealed that streamers who are charged with artificially inflating their view counts will be punished by having a cap placed on their concurrent viewership.

The TLDR: In his post, Clancy noted that “viewbotting is bad for our business” while also admitting that “effectively combating viewbotting is challenging.”

Viewbotting companies can quickly respond to enforcement attempts by updating their own tactics. So, in addition to enacting policies that target viewbot providers (such as the mass removal of bot-owned accounts), Twitch is gearing up to target accounts that benefit from that forbidden practice.

That crackdown could affect some traffic numbers for legitimate streamers. At the end of the day, however, the new policy bodes well for Twitch’s bottom line, since advertisers concerned about inflated view counts might adjust their budgets in response.

AD WORLD

Are DMs the future of social media? (Photo Illustration by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images.)

Snapchat is getting serious about Chat ads

The study: Is online culture “moving away from public feeds into personal conversations”? That’s the claim made by Snap Head of India Ad Solutions Yagnesh Ravi, who suggested in a recent statement that “we’re seeing a clear shift across the industry” as users turn their attention to chat windows.

According to Ravi, Sponsored Snaps (aka ad spots that show up in the Chat feed next to Snaps from other users) are strategically positioned to help brands capitalize on that shift. Now, Snapchat has the necessary data to back up that assertion.

In India, the app teamed up with Kantar to measure the impact of Sponsored Snaps and found that the ad format—combined with video—delivered a 38-point lift in top-of-mind awareness among Indian Snapchat users. Consumers themselves spoke positively of the spots, with 93% of respondents saying Sponsored Snaps fit naturally into their habits and 94% claiming that Sponsored Snaps made it easier to share relevant ads with friends.

Those findings build on insights Snap reported last month, when it revealed that Sponsored Snaps deliver 2x more conversions per full-screen ad view compared to other inventory types.

The paradigm shift: As Ravi suggested, the rise of Sponsored Snaps isn’t just about one particular format. Snap is forecasting a broader transition, with advertisers moving budgets from feeds to DMs—and it’s not the only platform preparing for that paradigm shift. Meta has souped up Instagram’s DMs by adding dozens of new features, and Threads recently gained enhanced chatting capabilities as well. YouTube has also tested direct messages in response to a “top feature request.”

If Snapchat can keep up with the Joneses, it has a lot to gain from a greater investment in Sponsored Snaps. The app’s Q1 2026 earnings report met analyst expectations, but ad tech investments will need to pay off going forward if Snap hopes to continue gaining ground.

LISTEN UP 🎙️

We’re talking memes, conferences, and scaling the content biz. (Photo illustration by Ezra Acayan/Getty Images.)

This week on the podcast…

The episode: On the latest installment of Creator Upload, hosts Lauren Schnipper and Joshua Cohen were joined by two industry experts, ICYMI's Lia Haberman and Climate Cardinals founder Sophia Kianni.

Haberman sat down with Schnipper to discuss her takeaways from the Scalable Summit, Meta's new AI teen surveillance, and the truth about the meme account crackdown, while Kianni shared insights on leveraging AI, scaling businesses as a Gen Z founder, and her podcast, The Burnouts.

Tune into the full episode on Spotify and Apple Podcasts to learn more.

The survey: Creator Upload wants your opinion! Take this survey to help us understand who’s tuning in and what you want more (or less) of from the show.

Want to introduce your brand to Tubefilter’s audience? Sponsor the newsletter.

Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe here.​

Today's newsletter is from: Emily Burton, Drew Baldwin, Sam Gutelle, James Hale, and Josh Cohen.

It's Sunday and here’s a handpicked selection of stories to give you a snapshot of trends, updates, business moves, and more from around the creator industry.

But first, we’re wishing a fond farewell to Ask.com. The search engine formerly known as Ask Jeeves is calling it quits. It’s hard out there for a search engine these days, but Jeeves might find the job market to be even tougher.

CREATOR COMMOTION

Where in the world is Filian?

Influencers are vanishing, exposing scams, and trying to buy Spirit Airlines

The vanishing act: Where’s Filian? The VTuber is one of the most prominent representatives of her community and has even served as the host of the VTuber Awards. But after she vanished from social media and abruptly wiped the content from her accounts, fans are wondering if the VRChat standout is gone for good—or if she’ll return in a new form somewhere down the line.

The fundraiser: Spirit Airlines’ market cap maybe in the seven-figures, but buying the airline is going to cost a lot more than that. That’s what a creator named Hi There Hunter learned when he launched a fundraising campaign in an attempt to acquire the failing low-cost airliner. Hunter raised a whopping $22 million. That’s a huge sum for a creator-led campaign, but not enough to shortcut Spirit’s creditors, debt, leases, and bankruptcy process.

The warning: Jacksfilms wants Roblox fans to watch out for live stream scams. The veteran creator is known for targeting hucksters in the YouTube community, and he found some new targets in the world of Roblox. A recent video of his shares evidence of giveaway scams that run through fake live streams consisting of prerecorded footage.

The return: Dixie D’Amelio is back on YouTube with new music on deck. The elder D’Amelio sister has taken some time away from social media, but she ended her hiatus with a vlog on her YouTube channel. Now she’s eyeing a revival for her music career as she focuses on writing and recording new material.

The YouTube special: One month after being hospitalized due to injuries sustained in an accident, Eugene Mirman has brought a new piece of work to YouTube. The Bob’s Burgers voice actor’s latest special is titled Here Comes The Whimsy, and we could all use a little bit of that these days.

SPORTS & GAMES

Dude Perfect is going bananas.

Content creators are changing the game across baseball, soccer, and cycling

The cameo: Dude Perfect and the Savannah Bananas are a match made in heaven. The creator perspective has brought a new angle to pro sports, disrupting leagues like the NBA and NFL in the process. If creators are going to take over the sports world, why not bring them into a silly spectacle like Banana Ball? That’s exactly what the Dude Perfect guys did, and their Savannah Bananas cameo even included a trick pitch.

The creator league: The Baller League has become a YouTube phenomenon. Millions of viewers are tuning in to watch indoor soccer matches contested by creator-led teams. The likes of iShowSpeed struggle to compete with soccer legends like Ronaldinho on the pitch, but when they match up as opposing managers, the results are far more even—and more exciting, if the deluge of traffic is any indication.

The cyclists: The Unibet Rose Rockets are off and pedaling in the Giro d’Italia. In February, we discussed the formation of the cycling team, which is shaking up its sport by combining high-level performance with social media content. The Rockets have struggled to gain a spot on the pro cycling circuit, but they’re in the Giro d’Italia. Imagine how wild the vlogs will be if they actually win the thing.

AGENCY DEALINGS

Worker discontent is growing in The Melon Patch.

This week in the digital media biz…

The strike: The IATSE is striking against CoComelon’s live-action programming. Shows like The Melon Patch have allowed CoComelon to expand beyond its animated roots. The union representing theatrical stage employees, however, has found something rotten in the melon patch. The IATSE cited producers’ unwillingness to provide “fair wages and benefits” for crew members as it initiated a work stoppage affecting CoComelon shows.

The appeal: Meta and YouTube are pushing back against a social media addiction verdict. A jury decision in California—which held Meta and YouTube liable for their addictive social feeds—threatens to strip Section 230 protections and upend an entire industry. In response, the two Big Tech firms have officially appealed the decision via filings in an L.A. court. The verdict of the appeal could set an important precedent.

The LinkedIn partner: Creator Authority has joined the LinkedIn Marketing Partner Program. The so-called “LinkedIn influencer marketing company” facilitates deals on the platform known for its professional content. As an official LinkedIn marketing partner, Creator Authority will be able to move faster as it executes influencer campaigns alongside partners like SAP, Dropbox, and HubSpot.

The expansion: Indigenous House is adding podcasts to its library of Native content. The seven-month-old streaming service is committed to empowering Indigenous American voices, and it is doing exactly that with a podcast called Power in Numbers, which touches on cultural, social, and political topics. The first episode of the show asks a pertinent question: “What the &#@$ Is Happening Right Now?”

WATCH THIS 👀

“Baby Shark” was just the beginning.

Bebefinn has a movie out, and it’s a chart-topper on Netflix

The Netflix film: Bebefinn is a piece of kid-friendly IP under the umbrella of Pinkfong, the South Korean company behind Baby Shark.

To expand Bebefinn to a new format, Pinkfong brought a new movie based on the IP to Netflix—and it quickly hit #1 in the streamer’s kids’ category. The timing of that success could spell big things for both Pinkfong and Netflix. After all, if the streaming service is going to lose CoComelon rights to Disney+, Bebefinn could emerge as a prized asset.

Check out a trailer for Bebefinn Sing-Along Movie: Into the Pinkfong World here.

Want to introduce your brand to Tubefilter’s audience? Sponsor the newsletter.

Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe here​.

Today's newsletter is from: Emily Burton, Drew Baldwin, Sam Gutelle, and Josh Cohen.

It’s Friday and Disney is reportedly on a quest to create the next “super app.” Because what’s a streaming platform without access to cruises and resorts?

Today’s News

GAME ON

You’re most likely going to see the YouTube logo on more games this season. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

YouTube and Netflix could land multi-game packages for the 2026 NFL season

The streaming deals: Last year marked YouTube’s first time serving as the exclusive broadcaster for a regular-season NFL game. In 2026, the platform is expanding its football slate—and sharing the spotlight with Netflix.

In accordance with ESPN’s agreement to acquire the NFL Network, the Worldwide Leader in Sports surrendered four broadcasts that were previously part of Monday Night Football doubleheaders. Per CNBC, YouTube and Netflix will each get two of those games—and that’s only part of a set of multi-game deals covering the 2026 NFL season.

Front Office Sports also reported that YouTube was in advanced talks to secure a five-game package, while Netflix will air Christmas Day football for the third season in a row.

The context: If those deals go through, NFL football will be split across a wide array of streaming services in 2026. Amazon Prime Video will retain its claim as the exclusive home of Thursday Night Football, while Peacock, Paramount+, and ESPN Unlimited will offer digital coverage of games that will also air on network channels.

That diversified setup is being assembled at a crucial moment for the NFL. The U.S. Justice Department is currently investigating the league to determine whether the practice it uses to distribute broadcast rights is anticompetitive. In theory, a longer list of broadcast partners shows that there is stiff competition for NFL rights packages.

Expanding its presence amid that heightened competition signifies a major win for YouTube. Its strategy on TV screens revolves around big-name live events like the Oscars and the Eurovision Song Contest—and the NFL certainly fits that bill.

Confirmation of the league’s partnerships with YouTube and Netflix is expected to come during the second week of May, when broadcasters will deliver their upfront presentations and reveal plans for the coming season.

INDUSTRY NEWS

Les Mills wants to make fitness instructors “rockstars”.

Fitness instructors are the “rockstars” of their industry. That’s why Les Mills made a YouTube docuseries about them.

The series: Les Mills—the international fitness company founded by a family of Olympians—offers a vast variety of fitness classes hosted by over 100,000 expert instructors from across the globe.

Now, the best and brightest of those instructors are being featured in an original YouTube docuseries made by Les Mills and Auckland-based studio Tomorrowland.

Called RISE: Search for the Ultimate Trainers, the six-episode series spans three years of production and follows a tense competition between hundreds of trainers as they perform at live fitness events around the world. Whoever comes out on top will snag a coveted spot on Les Mills’ global filming team.

The YouTube play: The docuseries itself evolved over the course of production, but its distribution plan remained rock solid thanks to The Now Agency. Co-founded in July 2025 by Managing Partner Gabe Feldman and Reign Maker Group co-founder/CEO Jonathan Chanti, The Now Agency helps brands “transition from traditional media and traditional advertising to social media and influencer-led advertising” (per Feldman).

The Now Agency is Les Mills’ exclusive YouTube partner and, together, the two companies are publishing one episode of RISE per week on Les Mills’ YouTube channel, plus a wrap-up podcast hosted by Les Mills ambassador trainer Bas Hollander. 

And this is just the start of The Now Agency's plans for Les Mills' presence on YouTube.

Check out our interview with Les Mills founder and Managing Director Phillip Mills here to find out more.

HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰

It’s like a ‘Schoolhouse Rock!’ for civil liberties.

• The American Civil Liberties Union is expanding its YouTube presence—and teaching kids about their constitutional rights—with an animated series called Know Your Rights University. (Tubefilter)
  
  

• OpenAI is rolling out “Trusted Contact,” a ChatGPT safety feature ​​that allows adult users to “nominate someone they trust” to be notified if the chatbot detects serious indications of self-harm. (OpenAI)
  
  

• Days after the Oscars announced a ban on AI actors and writing, the Golden Globes have unveiled a decidedly less clear-cut set of AI guidelines. (Gizmodo)
  
  

• According to Twitch CEO Dan Clancy, the platform will now penalize viewbotters by applying “a cap to the streamer's CCV [concurrent views] for a fixed period of time." (Engadget)

CREATOR COMMOTION

Doctor Mike is showing up off your screens and out of home.

Creators 4 Mental Health has tapped Doctor Mike and Vivian Tu to reach NYC commuters

The campaign: Thanks to Creators 4 Mental Health, millions of subway riders in NYC are about to get a dose of positivity during their daily commute.

Content creators Doctor Mike, Vivian Tu (aka Your Rich BFF), Nimay Ndolo, Frankie Grande, and Shira Lazar are all featured in a new campaign that will put their “messages of affirmation, wisdom and hope” on various NYC transit video boards run by advertising company OUTFRONT.

The campaign is timed for May’s Mental Health Awareness Month and aimed at everyone, not just creators. Recent data, however, shows that creators are intimately familiar with mental health struggles, making them ideal spokespeople for others facing similar challenges.

The data: A November 2025 study from Creators 4 Mental Health (which researches creator-specific wellness needs and develops corresponding support systems) showed that 89% of creators feel they don’t have access to mental healthcare from providers who understand their jobs and needs.

The study also found that creators experience high rates of anxiety, depression, and burnout, with 10% of survey respondents saying they’ve had suicidal thoughts related to their work. That number is twice the typical rate for U.S. adults.

Lazar, who founded Creators 4 Mental Health, said the partnership between her organization and OUTFRONT “is a powerful step forward in making mental health visible in our everyday environments.” Tu similarly emphasized the importance of visibility, noting that “conversations around overall well-being allow all of us to feel better connected and less alone. Mental health is wealth!”

PLATFORM POTPOURRI

OnlyFans is officially entering its Discovery Era.

OnlyFans is rolling out category-specific hubs

The hubs: OnlyFans has revealed a trio of category-focused hubs based around specific genres. The platform’s CEO, Keily Blair, announced the update during an address at the Online Marketing Rockstars Festival in Hamburg, Germany. 

Although OnlyFans is best known for explicit content, its new hubs will highlight uploads that fall into the categories of sports, comedy, and podcasts. Many of the creators featured on those verticals already have strong followings on OnlyFans. The sports hub, for example, directs users to athletes like Cris Cyborg and Lisa Buckwitz.

The hubs also tie into OnlyFans’ original programming endeavors. Through a platform called OFTV, OnlyFans offers all-ages shows in categories like reality TV, cooking, and even fishing. Some of those shows, like the sports program Rise & Grind and the comedy series LMAOF, can now be discovered on the relevant category-specific hubs.

The context: By letting users market and sell their own content, OnlyFans has empowered influencers across multiple industries and genres—and that support for creator agency is on full display within these new hubs. Comedians like Claire Sundbye have prioritized OnlyFans because of its support for edgy content, while top stars like Harry Jowsey have employed the platform as a promotional tool for their podcasts and other ventures.

Now, as OnlyFans expands, it must prioritize its community as well as its creators. That’s the move Patreon is making with its pivot toward discovery features, and OnlyFans’ new hubs will allow it to move in a similar direction.

WATCH THIS 👀

The LBCU (‘Legally Blonde’ Cinematic Universe) expands.

Meet Elle Woods, circa 1995

The prequel: It’s been 25 years since Legally Blonde landed in theaters, but the early 2000s hit hasn’t lost its shine over the decades. Clips of the original film have amassed millions upon millions of views on TikTok—not to mention the short-form video trends inspired by the franchise at large.

Now, Elle Woods is making her triumphant return in a Prime Video prequel series. The official trailer for Elle dropped on YouTube earlier this week, bringing fans back in time to 1995. Check out the teaser here for a hearty dose of pink-tinted nostalgia.

Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe here.​

Want to introduce your brand to Tubefilter’s audience? Sponsor the newsletter.

Today's newsletter is from: Emily Burton, Drew Baldwin, Sam Gutelle, James Hale, and Josh Cohen.

TOGETHER WITH

It’s Thursday and as tech giants roll out new age verification tech, they’re facing a scarier threat than government regulations: kids with fake mustaches.

Today’s News

EVENT CIRCUIT

There’s going to be a lot of new signage around VidCon.

VidCon’s new title sponsor is an AI-powered creator monetization platform

The shakeup: VidCon Anaheim has a new title sponsor, and for the first time, it’s not a social video platform. Instead, POP.STORE—a creator monetization platform that operates under the umbrella of the CommentSold Group—has signed on as the title sponsor for the 2026 edition of VidCon’s flagship event.

That deal makes POP.STORE the third title sponsor in VidCon Anaheim history. YouTube has held that distinction ten times (including in 2025, when it took over VidCon’s top line to celebrate its 20th birthday), while TikTok briefly stepped in during the early 2020s.

Compared to those two heavyweights, POP.STORE is a relative unknown. In a statement, VidCon VP Sarah Toretti positioned the AI-powered platform’s sponsorship as a nod to the ongoing growth and diversification of creator businesses.

The reveal: POP.STORE’s opening day keynote address at VidCon 2026 will double as the public unveiling of ECHO-ME, an agentic AI commerce platform that launched quietly earlier this year.

POP.STORE CEO Gautam Goswami will present a demo, and longtime creator economy insider Jon Youshaei will moderate the session. Goswami hyped up his company’s platform in a recent statement, claiming that “with an agentic AI team like ECHO-ME, a creator with 5,000 followers can now operate like one with a full team behind them.”

If you’re curious about what Goswami’s vision looks like, you can secure your seat at the June 25 session by snagging a Creator or Pro Pass to Vidcon.

🌟 SPONSORED 🌟

POSSIBLE 2026 drew 7.5K attendees to the most impactful marketing event of the year. Next up: Lisbon.

Last month, POSSIBLE drew thousands of marketing industry leaders from 50+ countries to Miami for three days of exclusive insights and networking. 

Executives from Meta, YouTube, Crocs, Snap, MrBeast, e.l.f., and other global brands were joined by the world’s top creators—including Issa Rae, Dhar Mann, Kat Stickler, and actor Terry Crews.

Here’s a quick look at the conversations that defined POSSIBLE 2026:

• For a session titled The New Storytellers: How Brands are Shaping Entertainment, HOORAE Media Founder/CEO Issa Rae discussed HOORAE’s growing investment in micro-series, including a partnership with TikTok.
  
  

• During a panel called Deconstructing Successful Brand-Creator Partnerships on YouTube, creator Dhar Mann shared the success of his #KindnessWins Big Super Bowl campaign, noting  that “our organic NFL campaigns drove 2% of the overall Super Bowl conversation that happened.”
  
  

• During a fireside chat with YouTube’s Chief Business Officer Mary Ellen Coe, creator Kinigra Deon called out the gap between creators’ value and the recognition they receive from traditional media and Hollywood.

POSSIBLE 2026 might be a wrap, but the event series is just getting started. As Global President & Co-Founder Christian Muche revealed, POSSIBLE is coming to Lisbon in October 2027, and will return to Miami Beach April 5-7, 2027.

HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰

Hands in pans creators now have avatar options.

• Japanese VTuber Mitama Sakumaru has created a smartphone program that masks human hands with animated hands, allowing creators to “film handheld videos while staying in your VTuber body.” (Tubefilter)
  
  

• Snap says it has “amicably ended” its $400 million deal with AI search company Perplexity. (TechCrunch)
  
  

• Google is updating its AI search tools to offer users “a preview of perspectives from public online discussions, social media, and other firsthand sources.” (Google)
  
  

• An investigation conducted by Canadian officials determined that OpenAI’s AI training methods were "not compliant with" the country’s privacy laws. (Engadget)

PLATFORM POTPOURRI

Twitch often rewrites its rules to support emerging streamer metas.

Twitch changed its rules to let streamers mog each other

The trend: Thanks to a recent rule update, Twitch streams can now mog each other to their hearts’ content.

If you’re not yet familiar with “mogging,” the term derives from the phrase “alpha male of the group” and can refer to any show of dominance. The rise of looksmaxxing influencers like Clavicular has pushed the mogging phenomenon into the mainstream; now, Twitch’s “just chatting” community is getting in on the fun via an app called Omoggle.

The platform—which is a play on the bygone video chat service Omegle—puts two individuals in a side-by-side video chat and then scans both participants’ faces to determine which is closer to the beauty standard chased by looksmaxxing creators. Thanks in large part to Twitch stars like JasonTheWeen, Omoggle’s leaderboard is now filled with thousands of players.

The update: Until recently, however, Twitch’s Community Guidelines would’ve smothered the burgeoning “Omoggle meta” thanks to a rule that disallowed “randomized video chat services.” That portion of the platform’s Community Guidelines has now been amended so that streamers are free to Omoggle away.

This isn’t the first time Twitch has rewritten its rules to support emerging streamer metas. A 2023 “topless meta” tested the limits of Twitch’s rulebook, which was briefly amended to allow “artistic nudity.” That change was rolled back when streamers pushed the new policy too far, but Twitch eventually found a workable middle ground by letting users choose what they want to see.

Mogging could prove to be a similarly complicated issue for Twitch to traverse. On TikTok, the #SkinnyTok hashtag has drawn widespread scrutiny from regulators. Looksmaxxing is now facing related criticisms for its pseudoscientific approach to beauty—a problem Twitch might soon have to take into account.

TALKING POLITICS

Are algorithmic recommendations even on both sides of the aisle? (Photo via Getty Images)

Social media has political divides, but some feeds are more polarized than others

The study: The 2024 U.S. presidential election cycle is often referred to as the influencer election. Now, a recent study published in the journal Nature shows how the polarization of viewers’ social media feeds may have impacted that cultural flashpoint.

Researchers set up 323 “sock puppet” accounts on TikTok to measure the political polarization of the For You Page. Those accounts were split up, with some trending toward left-wing recommendations while others moved toward the right. All told, the sock puppets received over 280,000 recommendations across 27 weeks during the 2024 U.S. presidential election cycle.

It has long been understood that the political leanings of social media users have a profound effect on the type of algorithmic recommendations they receive, oftentimes creating digital echo chambers.

The Nature study, however, showed that siloed social media feeds aren’t as straightforward as they might seem. Republican accounts were 11.5% more likely than Democrat accounts to receive recommendations that aligned with their political beliefs. It follows, then, that left-leaning accounts were 7.5% more likely to see content that crossed party lines—including content that criticized the Democrat party.

While Democratic accounts are sometimes served content that can be defined as anti-Democrat, Republican accounts rarely see anti-Republican content. And in a survey attached to the study, Republican respondents were more likely to use words like “positive,” “optimistic,” and “agreeable” when describing the content they see on the FYP.

The big picture: The uneven nature of algorithmic recommendations presents a challenge for Democratic political strategists. After Republicans dominated digital discourse in 2024 by linking President Trump to creator culture, Democrats have made it clear they intend to copy that strategy in 2026.

If left-wing feeds are more likely to be self-critical than right-wing feeds, however, firms like AND Media may need to begin addressing Democratic viewers’ frustrations with their own party.

WATCH THIS 👀

Les Mills gets into the branded content game.

This YouTube docuseries puts fitness instructors in the spotlight

The docuseries: Les Mills (aka the international fitness company founded by Phillip Mills) offers in-person and online classes hosted by over 100,000 expert instructors from all around the world. Now, the best and brightest of those fitness instructors are being featured in a six-episode YouTube docuseries made by Les Mills and Auckland-based studio Tomorrowland.

Together with The Now Agency (which was co-founded in July 2025 by Managing Partner Gabe Feldman and Reign Maker Group co-founder/CEO Jonathan Chanti), Les Mills is publishing one episode of RISE: Search for the Ultimate Trainers every week on its official YouTube channel. Check out a trailer for the series here.

FYI: Reign Maker Group is a Tubefilter partner.

Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe here.​

Want to introduce your brand to Tubefilter’s audience? Sponsor the newsletter.

Today's newsletter is from: Emily Burton, Drew Baldwin, Sam Gutelle, and Josh Cohen.

TOGETHER WITH

It's Wednesday and if you don’t have enough AI in your life already, we have good news. OpenAI reportedly plans to release a ChatGPT phone as early as 2027.

Today’s News

MONEY MOVES

Out of Phone is the new Out of Home.

TikTok is letting brands “reformat and reimagine” ads for billboards

The billboards: TikTok is inviting advertisers to go beyond the For You Page. The app is extending its partnership with Vistar Media to bring custom creative to digital billboards.

In TikTok’s parlance, billboard ads and other real-world spots are known as “Out Of Phone” campaigns. The platform’s advertising partners have had access to that format since 2023, when TikTok first brought its ads to locations like airports, gas stations, and movie theaters.

Out of Phone campaigns, however, come with unique challenges. TikTok encourages ad partners to tailor their spots to the vertical orientation of the For You Page. So, what happens when those ads need to be ported over to a horizontal screen like a digital billboard?

The partnership: That’s where Vistar Media comes in. The out-of-home tech company—which has been a TikTok partner since 2024—offers a Creative Studio that allows advertisers to tailor campaigns for out-of-home presentation. Vistar then delivers the refitted ads at scale across a variety of real-world locations.

According to TikTok Global Head of Media and Licensing Partnerships Dan Page, the platform currently works with a limited pool of advertising partners on its Out Of Phone campaigns. Creators love to see themselves on billboards, so it makes sense that social media-savvy brands would be eager to take advantage of TikTok’s new ad format.

🌟 SPONSORED 🌟

This summer, the creator economy is on its way to the French Riviera for LIONS Creators 

LIONS Creators is the home of the creator economy at Cannes Lions, bringing together the industry’s most influential voices for a programme built to spark connections, fuel ambition and shape what’s next at the intersection of commercial creativity, cultural power and business growth. 

Expect unfiltered insights from standout creators like Max Klymenko, Tomike Adeoye, Jake Schoeder, Alexis Omman, Grace Wells, alongside the powerhouse brands shaping the creator economy—including TikTok, Dove, Shopify, GAP, and DoorDash.  

It’s not just about listening. It’s about access.

From curated networking sessions to high-impact moments like The Creator-Marketer Mixer—hosted by headline partner Adobe—LIONS Creators is where creators and decision makers unlock real commercial opportunities.  

Interested? Reach out to creators@canneslions.com. 

Cannes Lions | 22-26 June, Cannes, France  

HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰

Twitch is making it easier for you to stream. (Photo by George Chan/Getty Images)

• Thanks to an update to Twitch’s Community Guidelines, creators can now stream content from randomized video chat sites like Omegle. (Dextero)
  
  

• Meta began rolling out direct messaging on the desktop version of Threads yesterday, allowing users to access both group chats and one-on-one conversations via web. (TechCrunch)
  
  

• Major publishers Hachette, Macmillan, McGraw-Hill, Elsevier, and Cengage have joined a class-action lawsuit that accuses Meta of using copyrighted material to train its AI models. (Engadget)
  
  

• YouTube TV has renewed its carriage deal with Byron Allen‘s Allen Media Group, securing ongoing access to Comedy.TV, Justice Central, Recipe.TV, and The Weather Channel. (The Hollywood Reporter)

GAME ON

It’s Dropout, but IRL and in your living room.

Dropout has raised $1.5M (and counting) to develop a Game Changer board game

The show: Dropout is taking its flagship game show to the next level—and into fans’ living rooms.

Game Changer already routinely snags millions of views on YouTube thanks to its addictive format, which centers on Dropout CEO Sam Reich coming up with new rules that contestants have to puzzle out before the end of each episode. Dropout has submitted the show for Emmy consideration, some of its contestants have had cameos on TV, and even Saturday Night Live has reached into the Dropout talent pool.

The board game: Now, the media company that succeeded CollegeHumor has launched a Kickstarter campaign for Game Changer: Home Edition, a board game that brings three different Game Changer formats to the masses. Those formats include a play on Bingo that resembles Codenames, a betting game that asks players to “Name a Number,” and a take on Simon Says called “Sam Says.”

Backers who pledge at least $39 can take home the basic edition of the game, and additional rewards are available at pledge tiers that go as high as $1,000. From now until June 5, fans can also unlock additional rewards for everyone by completing eclectic missions (like leaving comments about ferrets and taking pictures with a cardboard cutout of Reich). Once the crowdfunding campaign is complete, Dropout expects to deliver copies of the Home Edition in March 2027.

The company initially set a $40,000 pledge goal for Game Changer: Home Edition, but it took less than a day for enthusiastic fans to blow that number out of the water. Within 12 hours, the company’s Kickstarter campaign had already raked in $1.5 million.

TECH TIME

Can an adolescent outsmart Meta’s age-verification system? (Photo illustration by Ezra Acayan/Getty Images)

Meta says its new age verification tech isn’t facial recognition. Can it outsmart kids?

The tech: Days after E.U. regulators concluded that Meta has not done enough to keep kids off its platforms, the Facebook parent has unveiled a new layer of protection for users under 18. 

That announcement was delivered via a company blog post, which notes that Meta’s current suite of safety solutions does not include facial recognition technology. Instead, its AI-powered tools scan for telltale signs of a user’s age, such as mentions of school grades or birthday parties. Certain bone structures in posted photos can also be analyzed, although Meta’s AI does not identify the specific persons depicted in those images.

The context: By eschewing facial recognition, Meta likely hopes to sidestep data privacy concerns. Age verification systems can appease government officials, protect underage users, and even enable new forms of advertising, but they’re also inherently invasive. As companies like YouTube and Roblox have adopted their own forms of age verification, some critics have argued that the associated protections aren’t worth the drawbacks.

Meta’s latest approach could solve that issue—if the company can outsmart tech-savvy kiddos. Under-18s have already found plenty of ways to get around national social media bans. Now, they’ll try to apply those evasive maneuvers to Meta’s platforms.

WATCH THIS 👀

Smosh alums could be part of the next wave of high profile creators.

After 4.5 years, Erin Dougal is saying goodbye to Smosh

The farewell: Almost a half-decade ago, Erin Dougal began working for Smosh as an assistant—but it didn’t take long for her to begin participating in, and then leading, writers’ rooms. Flash forward to May 2026, and Dougal is leaving Smosh after serving as an associate producer on its main YouTube channel and as a co-host of Lunchtime with Smosh: The Podcast.

Dougal announced her departure—and her next steps as a solo YouTube creator—in a farewell video that doubled as a love letter to Smosh.

Check out the full “I Left Smosh” video here to find out more about Dougal’s career and discover what she has planned for her YouTube channel.

Want to introduce your brand to Tubefilter’s audience? Sponsor the newsletter.

Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe here.​

Today's newsletter is from: Emily Burton, Drew Baldwin, Sam Gutelle, James Hale, and Josh Cohen.

It's Tuesday and while TikTok Shop battles with Amazon and Whatnot, GameStop is making a $56 billion bid to buy eBay.

Today’s News

THE BIZ

Will generative music fix copyright issues—or just upend the royalty-free audio biz?

YouTube is testing a tool that lets creators generate royalty-free music for videos

The new tool: When it comes to dealing with copyright claims, the precision of YouTube’s Content ID technology has frustrated creators for years. There are numerous examples of videos that have been claimed because a copyrighted song is heard for just a few seconds in the background.

YouTube has responded to creators’ concerns by developing multiple solutions, including an Erase Song tool that strips copyrighted music without affecting the rest of the audio track.

Now, the platform is turning things up a notch. In YouTube Studio, an experimental new feature allows users to respond to a piece of claimed audio by generating a sound-alike, royalty-free track to replace the copyrighted music. The process is, at least in theory, pretty simple; a new “Create” button generates four pieces of instrumental music, and creators can then swap in the alternative track that best suits their video.

The instrumental track generator is currently available in the U.S. for desktop users. Longtime YouTube exec Rene Ritchie, who discussed the new “Create” button in a Creator Insider video, said the experimental option will roll out more widely “later this year.”

The impact: The ability to replace copyrighted audio with royalty-free music could go a long way towards easing the frustrations of individual creators. The big question, however, is how this change will affect companies that provide royalty-free music to creators.

As of now, YouTube will allow creators to generate tracks to avoid copyright claims. But what happens if it eventually lets creators generate free-to-use music for any purpose? Would that move upend the industry that’s currently centered around royalty-free tracks?

That scenario may never come to pass—but the possibility is an important reminder that social platforms have the ability to swiftly alter the fate of third-party companies that pop up around them. 

HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰

LIONS Creators, a program that gives the creator economy a dedicated space at Cannes Lions, returns next month.

• The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity returns next month. Check out our Q&A with Ed Davidson (VP, Chief Growth Officer) to hear his perspective on the festival’s upcoming LIONS Creators programming. (Tubefilter)
  
  

• German-based YouTube hub Jasmin and James scored 1.12 billion views during the week that ended on May 3, outperforming all other channels to top our latest Top 50 Most-Viewed YouTube chart. (Tubefilter)
  
  

• Instagram is experimenting with new account labels that will allow users to voluntarily identify themselves as “AI creators.” (Engadget)
  
  

• A recent report found that “all of the 20 state-run health insurance exchanges in the US” share user activity data with Big Tech firms like Meta, TikTok, Snap, and Google. (Bloomberg)

COURT OF LAW

It’s a battle of the tech bros. (Photo by Benjamin Fanjoy/Getty Images.)

You can now listen to Musk v Altman live on YouTube

The update: You probably already know that Elon Musk is suing OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Now, if you’re interested in knowing more than that, you can listen to the entire trial live on YouTube.

That access comes as a result of a May 1 amendment to the Northern District of California’s Civil Local Rule 77-3, which now specifically allows judges to, “in their discretion, provide the public with remote video or audio access to court proceedings.”

The first judge to exercise this power is Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers (aka, the judge overseeing the Musk v Altman case). She’s decided to broadcast audio of the trial on the official US District Court Northern District of California YouTube channel, a non-monetized hub that currently has around 3.6K subscribers.

The case: The Altman v Musk case kicked off in court on April 28 and centers around Altman’s decision to give OpenAI a path to being for-profit despite alleged promises to remain nonprofit. In rebuttal to Musk’s accusations of “ill-gotten gains,” Altman claims the suit is designed to hinder OpenAI so Musk’s own AI company, xAI, can gain the upper hand.

Judge Rogers has already indicated she’s fed up with both participants, even asking Musk at one point, “How can we get things done without you making things worse outside the courtroom?”

The US District Court Northern District of California YouTube channel will stream audio of the trial Monday-Thursday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Pacific until the case’s conclusion. The district has clarified that “recording or rebroadcasting the audio livestream is strictly prohibited…regardless of platform or format.”

UP IN THE AIR

A still image - not a recording - from the friendly skies.

Airlines are cracking down on filming. What does this mean for aviation YouTubers?

The crackdown: Every day, YouTubers review countless products—including expensive travel options like first-class flights. To experience those pricier adventures, millions of people live vicariously through YouTube aviation reviewers.

Their jobs, however, may be becoming more difficult.

As noted by UK Aviation News‘ Nick Harding, a growing number of airlines are implementing policies that restrict or ban recording on flights. British Airways, for example, recently prohibited filming or photographing crew members without their explicit consent. It also specifically bans livestreaming.

That rule is in line with changes from other aviation brands, reflecting what Harding calls “a broader industry shift towards tighter control of onboard filming.”

The impact: Aviation YouTuber Noel Philips told Harding he thinks these clampdowns are driven by a general increase in public recording, including “an upsurge of passengers recording ‘air rage’ incidents, perceived bad service or other onboard incidents to post online for clicks.” Philips said he doesn’t “necessarily think” the crackdown is “a bad thing,” but acknowledged how stricter guidelines could land creators in hot water.

We’re already seeing that issue come into play. Last June, for example, aviation reviewer Nonstop Dan posted a video about his first-class Kuwait Airlines flight from Bangkok to Kuwait. During the flight, a purser apparently told the creator that if he posted anything about the flight online, he “could not guarantee [Dan’s] safety when we land.”

Dan said he hadn’t broken any rules, wasn’t speaking while filming, and was paying attention to passengers’ privacy. Even so, the purser and captain got police involved once the plane touched down, and attempted to force Dan to delete his footage.

Dan was released and ultimately received a formal apology from Kuwait Airways’ Chairman and President, as well as a letter from Kuwait’s royal family—but if airlines continue tightening rules, creators could increasingly face similar run-ins with less ideal outcomes.

LISTEN UP 🎙️

AI Rumi is making waves on YouTube.

Two of 2025’s top trends are colliding on YouTube: AI and KPop Demon Hunters

The AI channel: An AI-savvy YouTube hub called Dream Lags is using generated clips of fictional characters to tap into the enduring hype surrounding KPop Demon Hunters.

For previous generations, dress-up was the most immersive form of widely available idol worship. Now, generative AI offers immediate wish fulfillment for any young fan. Forget cosplay or fanfiction; viewers craving more KPop Demon Hunters content can simply tune into channels like Dream Lags to see their favorite characters act out new scenes, stories, and songs.

Offering up that kind of instant gratification has helped Dream Lags secure some big numbers. The Venezuelan channel added 360,000 new subscribers during the week that was, bringing its total sub count to nearly 4 million.

Want to introduce your brand to Tubefilter’s audience? Sponsor the newsletter.

Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe here.​

Today's newsletter is from: Emily Burton, Drew Baldwin, Sam Gutelle, James Hale, and Josh Cohen.

TOGETHER WITH

It's Monday, and a TikToker is leading the charge to buy Spirit Airlines in bulk—a goal that has already attracted 36,000 pledges totaling $23 million.

Today’s News

GAME ON

Roblox is rewarding developers of “novel games.”

Roblox will raise devs’ earnings by 42%—if they make games for adults

The rate bump: In February, Roblox CEO David Baszucki told Yahoo Finance that the platform had seen 50% year-over-year growth in players ages 18 and up. He added that Roblox aimed to target adult players through a “genre expansion” of titles with potential to become “cultural phenomena.”

Now, the platform is putting that plan into action with a Developer Exchange price hike that’ll increase the amount developers of “novel games” make from 18+ players.

The DevEx rate controls how Roblox’s in-game currency, Robux, cashes out into real-world currency for developers. Starting June 8, developers of “novel games” (aka “genre-defining” titles with “deeper gameplay [and] distinct visuals”) made using R15—a system within Roblox’s engine that upgrades avatars “with advanced skeletal joints” and smoother motion—will see a 42% bump in the exchange rate from Robux spent by 18+ players.

That means devs’ rate will go from the usual $0.0038/1 Robux to $0.005396/1 Robux, making 30,000 Robux equivalent to ~$162 instead of $114.

The context: When it comes to supporting novel game developers, Roblox isn’t stopping at exchange rates.

In March, the platform launched both the Roblox Incubator program (designed to “help experienced teams turn promising concepts into commercially successful games”) and the Roblox Jumpstart program (for “creators who are new to Roblox, or are exploring new types of games”). So far, Roblox says those two programs have attracted over 8,000 applicants.

The platform is also tweaking its game discovery engine “to prioritize long-term retention,” as well as “amplifying discovery” for novel games with a new “Standout Games” section on Roblox’s home page.

🌟 SPONSORED 🌟

Tribeca Festival just revealed an unprecedented TV and podcast lineup for 2026

This June, Tribeca Festival will take over New York City with an expansive television lineup and its most ambitious podcast slate to date. 

A dynamic mix of world premieres, TV milestones, and exclusive conversations will include…

• Live events featuring Radiolab, The New Yorker Radio Hour, and Lemme Say This, with guests like Peter Dinklage, Adam Scott, and Laurie Anderson
  
  

• A special panel celebrating the 50th season of Survivor with fan-favorite players Cirie Fields, Rob Cesternino, Kyle Fraser, Kamilla Karthigesu, Teeny Chirichillo, and Jonathan Penner
  
  

• The world premieres of HBO’s Not A Very Good Murderer and The Palladino Files, created by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ronan Farrow alongside Emmy Award-winning filmmakers Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato

Attendees will gain an exclusive look at Tribeca Festival’s specially curated podcast lineup, including a first-time expansion into Spanish-language programming like Nacional II: la ruta del exilio from La República Independiente de La Radio.

Reserve your spot at the festival for access to live tapings of The New York Times’ Cannonball with Wesley Morris, Vox Media’s On with Kara Swisher (featuring comedian Marc Maron), Slate's Death, Sex & Money (with host Anna Sale), and more.

Tribeca Festival is set to take place from June 3-14. Tickets are on sale now.

HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰

AI actors like Tilly Norwood won’t receive any awards at the 2027 Oscars.

• The Oscars is cracking down on AI. The Academy's updated rules clarify that "synthetic" performers and AI-written screenplays won’t be eligible for awards beginning in 2027. (Engadget)
  
  

• Elon Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI is in full swing, with the X owner testifying in court that “the entire foundation of charitable giving in America” is at stake. (Gizmodo)
  
  

• As demand for AI Christian content continues to rise across social media, more and more creators are reportedly paying freelancers on platforms like Fiverr to generate Bible-themed clips. (The Verge)
  
  

• Minnesota is the first state to pass a law banning AI apps that allow users to generate nude or sexualized images of real people. (Ars Technica)

CREATOR COMMOTION

The boys are back in town.

After an epic collapse, FaZe Clan’s CORE members are reuniting

The crew: Five months after FaZe Clan‘s collapse, some of its best-known alumni are getting the band back together. Marlon, Adapt, Lacy, Stable Ronaldo, Silky, and JasonTheWeen are the founding members of CORE, a new group centered around a classic creator house setup.

All six members of the CORE crew were previously signed to FaZe Clan, which—at its peak—was a power player operating at the intersection of gaming, entertainment, and creator content. That, of course, was before the brand imploded following several ill-advised attempts to increase its scope and visibility.

One of the biggest blows was the failure of FaZe’s plan to become a publicly traded company, which backfired when investors didn’t deliver the needed funding. The brand was later sold to esports company GameSquare and led by founding member FaZe Banks, who, as CEO, built a controversial roster that included both familiar and new members.

Then, last Christmas, the majority of FaZe’s creator roster suddenly left the organization, turning it into a shell of its former self. CORE’s founding members all participated in that mass exodus.

The future: Amid all that turmoil, longtime FaZe creators argued that the org should look inward and return to its roots. That’s what the members of CORE (which stands for “Create, Own, Run, Everything”) aim to do. By hanging out at a $20 million house, the group will be able to produce the old-school vlog content that populated FaZe’s channels in previous years.

FaZe Banks is not a CORE member, though he is supporting the group’s mission. In a live stream, he claimed that FaZe “succeeded” thanks to his support, although he also acknowledged the financial uncertainty that contributed to its creator exodus.

Now, the members of CORE will have a chance to correct some of FaZe’s mistakes while allowing nostalgic fans to revisit the glory days of gaming entertainment.

TV TIME

‘Stop The Train’ is getting the TV treatment.

A TV production company is picking up a creator game show

The production: Paris-based media company Banijay, which produces hit reality competition franchises like Survivor and MasterChef, is picking up Stop The Train, a game show format developed for YouTube by the French creator Squeezie.

Banijay will handle international distribution for Stop The Train, which consists of a series of challenges set aboard a moving train. The plan is to produce a bigger version of the show that can be sold to TV networks and streaming services. Squeezie’s audience of 20 million YouTube subscribers may have drawn Banijay’s attention in the first place, but his sprawling vision will be the attribute that turns Stop The Train into an international hit.

The growth: This isn’t the first time Banijay has built a bridge between the game show world and the creator economy. In Brazil, a creator-led version of MasterChef premiered last year. Then, at the MIPCOM conference in October 2025, Banijay ramped up efforts to bring game shows to YouTube by establishing an Entertainment Creators Lab that pairs its properties with the creator partners who can best reenergize those formats.

What’s interesting about the Squeezie deal is that it moves in the opposite direction. After getting millions of views online, Stop The Train will expand to a global audience thanks to Banijay’s assistance.

LISTEN UP 🎙️

Jesser is turning his content empire into a multimillion-dollar company.

This week on the podcast…

The episode: On the latest installment of Creator Upload, hosts Joshua Cohen and Lauren Schnipper sit down with JesserCo President Zach Miller to discover how Jesser is transforming his YouTube channel into a multimillion-dollar holding company. Strategic reorganization is the name of the game, from diversifying revenue streams to hiring top executives from Adidas and mitigating “key man risk.”

Tune into the full episode on Spotify and Apple Podcasts to learn more about Jesser’s evolving sports empire.

The survey: Creator Upload wants your opinion! Take this survey to help us understand who’s tuning in and what you want more (or less) of from the show.

Want to introduce your brand to Tubefilter’s audience? Sponsor the newsletter.

Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe here.​

Today's newsletter is from: Emily Burton, Drew Baldwin, Sam Gutelle, James Hale, and Josh Cohen.

It's Sunday and here’s a handpicked selection of stories to give you a snapshot of trends, updates, business moves, and more from around the creator industry.

But first, one kid reportedly watched 13,000 YouTube videos over three months of school. That adds up to a whole lot of Shorts watch time—or about two long-form video essays.

CREATOR COMMOTION

Hours of playing Geoguessr for content can actually make you a pretty good at Geoguessr.

Creators are crushing the competition, raising millions, and fighting cancer in the process

The gamers: Have Ludwig and Caedrel become Rainbolt’s heirs apparent in the Geoguessr world? In a Twitch Rivals tournament, the team known as “LudRel” crushed the competition en route to a decisive win. Rainbolt is still the Michael Jordan of geography-based guessing games, but Ludwig might just be the Geoguessr equivalent of LeBron.

The farewell: Pokimane and LilyPichu have ended their joint podcast after 69 episodes. In the latest blow to the Offline TV universe, two of its best-known alumnae are ending one of their creative ventures. Sweet n Sour was the canvas for Pokimane and LilyPichu’s “good cop, bad cop” routine, but the creators have decided to move on to greener pastures.

The fundraiser: A Polish streamer reportedly raised about $69 million to benefit the Cancer Fighters Foundation. Across a nine-day streaming event, Łatwo Gang pulled in an estimated fundraising total of 250 million zlotys. Top Polish athletes, including tennis champion Iga Swiatek and soccer star Robert Lewandoski, made guest appearances to support the stream.

The speedster: Terry Crews is back on YouTube—in a race car. We’ve seen Crews around these parts before, and his look at an F1 racing team will give him another contribution to the YouTube canon. I’m not sure if Crews chose to partner with Cadillac because he’s a big fan of the automaker’s racing team, or because the punny series title Crews Control was too good to pass up.

The fumble: Fred Beyer thought it would be a good idea to sneak onto the NFL Draft stage and announce that the Steelers had picked a fake player called “Luke Maxer.” (Get it?) The NFL and its security team had other ideas. Beyer received criminal charges for the stunt and has been banned from all future NFL events.

THE BIZ

A MrBeast co-authored book is looking to get a film adaptation.

This week in the creator economy…

The co-author: MrBeast is shopping the film rights for the book he wrote with James Patterson. The novel, titled Most Dangerous Game, hasn’t even hit bookstores yet. That hasn’t stopped MrBeast from selling the film rights for the inevitable Most Dangerous Game adaptation. Looks like the library of dystopian media is getting at least one more feature film for its shelves.

The FAST deal: King Bach’s Creator TV partnership will bring multiple shows to the FAST lane. A decade ago, Bach was a big deal on Vine. Now, he’s one of the growing number of creators who are seeing free, ad-supported TV platforms as the future of entertainment. Through Creator TV, Bach will roll out a sketch program called The King Bach Show as well as some poker content.

The journalist: A CBS News veteran is taking YouTube for a spin. Some reporters are splitting from traditional employers to venture out on their own across social platforms. Anthony Mason is doing something different. With a new YouTube show called Alchemy, Mason is bringing his brand of musician interviews to younger audiences while still maintaining his tenure at CBS News. Could that hybrid model be the future of journalism?

The hustle: Creators Banks and Ansem are teaming up with Polymarket. The leading prediction market is the presenting sponsor of the podcast and live-twitch series Market Bubble, that will turn Banks and Ansem into bet-making analysts who appeal to the “ultra tapped-in crowd.” Their advice might feel like gambling all on its own.

AGENCY DEALINGS

Is there money for creators in the theatre?

Agencies are teaming up with basketball royalty and fashion icons

The hire: As more creators find their way to The Great White Way, Underscore Talent is diversifying its approach to meet shifting demands. Though Underscore has its roots in creator management, it is launching a theatrical division led by new hire Lital Spitzer. Synergy with Underscore’s creator roster will “meaningfully enhance opportunities.”

The Shaq brand: UTA is helping Shareef O’Neal follow in his father’s footsteps. Shaq’s son didn’t have nearly as much basketball success as his father did, but he inherited his dad’s entrepreneurial spirit. As Shareef looks to relaunch the Shaq brand, he is teaming up with UTA to unlock new opportunities in the creator and business sectors.

The deal: Chriselle Lim has signed with CAA. Lim is best known as a fashion creator with a seven-digit following on Instagram, but she’s also the creative director of a fragrance brand called Phlur. Lim wants to turn Phlur into a global phenomenon, so she’s inked a deal with a major entertainment industry talent firm.

WATCH THIS 👀

Issa Rae is hitting vertical video screens.

Issa Rae’s Screen Time is a veritable microdrama hit

The series: Issa Rae has returned to her web series roots with Screen Time, a microdrama produced by her media company HOORAE.

Screen Time only needed 24 hours to become the biggest thing on the internet since Misadventures of an Awkward Black Girl. It got 18 million TikTok views in its first day, proving that the microdrama boom is as real as advertised.

Check out Episode 01 here.

Want to introduce your brand to Tubefilter’s audience? Sponsor the newsletter.

Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe here​.

Today's newsletter is from: Emily Burton, Drew Baldwin, Sam Gutelle, and Josh Cohen.

TOGETHER WITH

It's Friday and if Elon Musk wants a lucrative bonus from SpaceX, he’ll have to get at least 1 million people settled on Mars.

Today’s News

THE RETURN

6 seconds could be the new 15 minutes of fame. Again.

Vine is back—and it has a zero-tolerance policy for creators using AI

The reboot: Vine was the OG short-form video app. Its six-second time limit spawned an entire generation of memes, kickstarting the careers of creators like Liza Koshy, Logan Paul, Lele Pons, David Dobrik, Sam & Colby, and Hannah Stocking before being shut down by Twitter in 2017.

Now, Vine is back—and this time, it has a new name and a strict anti-AI philosophy.

Earlier this week, Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey launched “diVine” on Apple’s App Store, Google Play, and Zapstore after funding the platform through his nonprofit, and Other Stuff. diVine serves as an archive of around ~500,000 original Vine videos, while also letting users post new six-second videos.

and Other Stuff member Evan Henshaw-Plath told TechCrunch that he hopes diVine creators will be able to monetize through brand deals or collabs. He also noted that he likes the direct subscription support model and the idea of “pro” accounts.

Henshaw-Plath said diVine has already seen interest from several OG Vine creators, who were involved in the platform’s development and “wanted something like Vine that would reset social media and filter out AI slop.” Being anti-AI ultimately became a defining component of diVine. As of now, the app requires uploaders to either (a) record their videos directly in the app, or (b) use C2PA to verify that their videos were created without AI.

The big picture: All that sounds great—but can diVine survive where Vine failed to thrive? The app’s fate is still up in the air, but it helps that this iteration isn’t looking to become the next billion-dollar platform.

As TechCrunch reports, and Other Stuff’s goal is to back experimental open source projects with “the potential to transform the social media landscape.” The one-year-old nonprofit isn’t looking to recoup its investment with diVine; instead, the app is structured as a public benefit corporation with no revenue model.

🌟 SPONSORED 🌟

Tribeca X is almost here. Will you be there to witness history?

Since its founding, Tribeca Festival has served as a launchpad for visionary filmmakers and artists. Now, as the Festival celebrates its 25-year anniversary, its flagship program for brand storytelling—aka Tribeca X—is coming back for 2026.

Tribeca X will return to NYC from June 8-9, uniting leaders from film, media, brands, and culture for curated networking moments, expert-led keynotes, and celebrations of standout branded content.

Explore Tribeca X’s 2026 speaker lineup

This year’s speaker lineup includes the world’s top industry pioneers, executives, and creators, including Spin Master CEO Christina Miller, American Express CMO Elizabeth Rutledge, Challenge Accepted host Michelle Khare, KPop Demon Hunters writers Danya Jimenez and Hannah McMechan, and Dhar Mann (Forbes #2 Top Creator 2025, TIME100 Creator).

Tickets to Tribeca X are available now and provide access to…

• All Tribeca X panels, keynotes, networking events, and screenings

• The Tribeca X Awards Ceremony and Cocktail Reception

• Complimentary Tribeca X merchandise

• The Tribeca X Lounge with complimentary refreshments

• The Tribeca Storytelling Summit at Spring Studios (June 4-13)

• Two tickets to a Tribeca Festival premiere of your choice

From red carpet premieres to exclusive panels, Tribeca X 2026 will serve as a global nexus for the best and brightest in brand storytelling.

HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰

Human people now verified by Spotify.

• As AI floods the music industry, Spotify is rolling out new “Verified by Spotify” badges to confirm when artist profiles belong to actual human people. (Tubefilter)
  
  

• Roblox’s daily active user count has dropped by 20 million over the last six months, possibly in response to the platform’s renewed age verification efforts. (The Verge)
  
  

• Meta has threatened to block access to its apps for users in New Mexico ahead of a trial that will determine whether the company is required to contribute funds to state programs. (Engadget)
  
  

• Amazon Prime Video is adding to its live sports programming with streams of three Duke University men’s basketball games. (Engadget)

CREATOR COMMOTION

iShowSpeed gets an incredibly aligned brand partnership.

Expedia is buying into iShowSpeed’s world tours to sell vacations to Gen Z

The sponsorship: iShowSpeed’s continental tours have become the stuff of legend, drawing the attention of millions of viewers, top brands, and even entire nations. The streamer’s 2024 trip to Southeast Asia broke viewership records, while nations like Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania paid him to stop by during a 2025 swing through Europe.

Now, Expedia is taking advantage of that worldwide appeal. The travel company has announced a “multi-phase” partnership with Speed that includes sponsored live streams, Expedia-branded vehicles, Caribbean adventures, and even its very own homepage. Visitors to Exspeedia.com can follow Speed’s current route, unlock behind-the-scenes content from his past travels, and vote on the locations he should visit next.

Expedia’s backing became evident during Speed’s latest tour, which brought the creator to the Caribbean. The travel booking company sponsored a 12-hour live-streamed event that aired across Speed’s YouTube and Twitch accounts and showed him boarding four different modes of Expedia-branded transportation (planes, boats, jet skis, and dune buggies) as he explored Dominica, Guadeloupe, St. Kitts & Nevis, and St. Maarten.

The goal: For Expedia, a collaboration with Speed could help unlock a whole new generation of travel dollars. Gen Z has different vacation priorities than previous generations, and many of those travel preferences are influenced by social media.

That’s why TikTok is selling plane tickets, YouTube is turning into a discovery engine for travelers, and creators like the Sidemen are developing their own hospitality experiences. Now, the Exspeedia website will serve as another resource for Gen Z globetrotters by letting visitors plan their own Speed-style tours across the world.

PLATFORM UPDATES

Instagram doesn’t want serial reposters in the feed. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)

Instagram will penalize serial reposters by taking away recommendations

The crackdown: Meta is cracking down on Instagram accounts that only repost content from other creators.

The tech giant is extending a policy that punishes reposts, IP theft, and other forms of low-effort content aggregation. That kind of posting activity has already been deprecated on the short-form format Reels; now, Instagram accounts that repost too many photos and carousels will also become ineligible for algorithmic recommendations.

The update will apply to user feeds and the central Discover feed, where reuploads will not appear unless they have been significantly changed. Users will still be able to see reposts from accounts they already follow, but won’t be able to find other accounts that engage in that type of posting activity.

The context: Instagram’s efforts to promote original content date as far back as 2022, when algorithmic tweaks encouraged creators to share their own work. Two years later, an additional algorithm update further prioritized originality. At the time, Instagram Head Adam Mosseri clarified that content aggregators can still engage in their typical work as long as they meaningfully transform reuploads.

Now, the platform seems to be enacting a similar policy.

By cleaning up its algorithm, Instagram is, at least in theory, fostering an environment where creators who put in the most effort will reap the biggest rewards. That shift could help the platform avoid turning out like YouTube Shorts, where reuploads are so rampant that many top channels become mishmashes of pop culture references.

WATCH THIS 👀

That’s a lot of doodling.

Mr Doodle is on a mission to create 1 million doodles

The mission: Mr Doodle has been the subject of a documentary, exhibited his work at the Holburne Museum, sold paintings for over $1 million a pop, and covered an entire 12-room mansion in his signature doodles. Now, the creator is onto his next supersized project.

Earlier this week, Mr Doodle announced his plan to create a whopping one million doodles. He began livestreaming that mission shortly afterward, giving viewers an inside look at the process of making his graffiti-style art. Fans can keep an eye on Mr Doodle’s channel here to see how long it takes him to reach his goal.

Want to introduce your brand to Tubefilter’s audience? Sponsor the newsletter.

Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe here.​

Today's newsletter is from: Emily Burton, Drew Baldwin, Sam Gutelle, James Hale, and Josh Cohen.

It’s Thursday and as TikTok Shop continues to push luxury goods, it isn’t limiting itself to $11,000 handbags. The hub is dipping its proverbial toes into fine art, too.

Today’s News

MONEY MOVES

YouTube’s quarterly advertising revenue is just about in the 11-digit range.

YouTube hit nearly $10 billion in Q1 ad revenue

The earnings call: It’s been just over six years since Alphabet began disclosing YouTube’s ad revenue during its quarterly earnings calls. The first disclosure, released in February 2020, revealed that YouTube made a total of ~$15 billion in 2019 ad revenue (up from ~$10 billion total in 2018).

Now, according to Alphabet’s latest earnings call, YouTube is raking in nearly $10 billion a quarter.

The company’s Q1 2026 earnings showed that the video platform brought in $9.88 billion, a 10.7% year-over-year increase from Q1 2025. That figure comes in just shy of analyst expectations ($9.99 billion), but still makes up a sizable portion of Google’s total ad revenue ($77.25 billion for the quarter, a 15.5% year-over-year increase).

Alphabet also nodded to YouTube as one of the core components driving overall paid subscriptions to 350 million, which makes sense given that YouTube Premium hit 125 million subscribers late last year.

The big picture: The other subscription growth factor Alphabet pointed to was Google One, a bundle subscription for Google’s AI, cloud storage, and other features.

Alphabet/Google CEO Sundar Pichai also noted that Google Search had a strong quarter “with AI experiences driving usage, queries at an all-time high, and 19% revenue growth.” Given that creators’ videos are the leading information source for LLMs like Google’s AI search summaries, YouTube likely played a part in that growth, too.

Overall, Alphabet’s total revenue for the quarter was $109.9 billion, with a net income of $62.6 billion (aka $5.11 per share). Those figures beat analyst expectations of ~$107 billion and $2.63/share.

HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰

Can Australia keep news orgs funded? (Photo Illustration by George Chan/Getty Images.)

• A News Bargaining Incentive proposed by the Australian government would impose a new tax on Meta, YouTube, and TikTok unless they direct funds to traditional news providers. (Tubefilter)
  
  

• Less than a week after issuing a public apology, OpenAI is facing six lawsuits from families of victims of the Tumbler Ridge Shooting. (Engadget)
  
  

• Looksmaxxing influencer Braden Eric Peters (aka Clavicular) is being sued by 18-year-old creator Aleksandra Mendoza over allegations of fraud, battery, and sexual assault. (Wired)
  
  

• Meta reported yesterday that its 2026 spending would add up to at least $10 billion more than expected, and could potentially total $145+ billion. (Gizmodo)

SHORT STUFF

Patreon wants to help you find the good stuff.

Patreon is pumping up discoverability with new short-form posts

The updates: Back in 2024, Patreon announced its plan to establish a greater “network effect.” Now, the platform is bringing that vision to life with wider rollouts of existing discovery features—and a shiny new homepage feed featuring a short-form format called Quips.

A Patreon blog post describes Quips as “new, free, short-form posts that live in the Home feed and reach fans across Patreon’s app and website.” While creators can use Quips to preview exclusive perks that can be unlocked by paying patrons, the format will act as a sort of recommendation engine for viewers, who will see Quips from creators they don’t yet support.

The other facets of Patreon’s discovery push—including Instagram-style Collaboration posts—also prioritize community. Collaborating creators can put both their names on joint posts, building tighter connections between their respective patrons.

The context: Patreon has repeatedly insisted that it’s not a social media platform, and—despite having a lot in common with TikTok’s For You Page—its approach to Quips’ overall setup aligns with that claim. Rather than keeping viewers scrolling for as long as possible, the format directs homepage visitors to relevant pages. Users who aren’t interested in discovering new accounts can toggle over to a “Memberships-only feed” instead.

That network-based approach might not put Patreon in competition with TikTok, but it does give the platform a leg-up in an increasingly crowded field of creator-focused platforms. Competitors like beehiiv and Substack have challenged Patreon by building robust toolkits for partner creators. Now, by rolling out new features to 300,000 creators and nearly 80 million fans, Patreon is making sure it can keep up with the Joneses.

CREATOR COMMOTION

Clippers is becoming a new normal in marketing, and at least one creator is paying a lot to keep up with the Jonses.

Kick streamer N3on is spending millions on an army of clippers

The clipping biz: A few months ago, a Reddit user claimed to have gotten people paid “in total millions” for posting clips of N3on on TikTok. Now, Business Insider has done a deep dive into the gambling streamer’s clipping factory—and it looks like OP was telling the truth.

For those unfamiliar, N3on has ~558K followers on Kick and is primarily known for his association with Iggy Azalea (and for making headlines when he threatened to dox and sexually assault an underage fan).

In September 2025, N3on became a partner and co-owner of Azalea’s MOTHERLAND Casino, which describes itself as “the wildest and sexiest online casino and sports betting experience.” The company was acquired by crypto casino Gamdom last month in a deal that included long-term ambassador agreements for Azalea and N3on.

Now, N3on is promoting himself with what BI calls an “army” of clippers. Across one five-week period, the 21-year-old streamer paid out over $1.4 million to 303 individual clippers. His going pay rate is $40/100,000 views and top clippers can make $100,000+ each month.

The context: N3on told BI that his clipper network consists of ~1,000 people, about half of whom belong to a group that he built alongside fellow streamer Adin Ross. The other half of that network is apparently funded by Kick—meaning the platform itself is paying people to spam TikTok in hopes of attracting viewers.

N3on didn’t provide much hard data regarding the effectiveness of that system, but BI reports that “a successful clip” from a stream with 40K live viewers “can fetch millions of views” and open streamers up to brand and celebrity partnerships.

N3on isn’t the only streamer spending big on clipping, either. In addition to personally paying clippers $50/100K views, MrBeast launched Vyro—a platform that pays clippers who fulfill briefs from creators and/or brands—last October.

WATCH THIS 👀

Could Divine bring back the glory days of Vine?

A “new version of Vine” just hit the App Store

The Vine dupe: Jack Dorsey is hoping Vine fans will “do it for Divine.” The Twitter co-founder is the financial muscle behind Divine, a six-second social video app that features 500,000 original Vine videos and (at least in theory) no AI.

In a trailer for the platform, Divine is described as “a new version of Vine that includes the Vine archive.” That promo video was studded with stars like Logan Paul, Megan McCarthy, and King Bach, but regular folks may have a while to wait before hopping on the app. Divine launched on the App Store yesterday, but is currently invite-only.

Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe here.​

Want to introduce your brand to Tubefilter’s audience? Sponsor the newsletter.

Today's newsletter is from: Emily Burton, Drew Baldwin, Sam Gutelle, and Josh Cohen.

TOGETHER WITH

It’s Wednesday and Taylor Swift is taking a stand against AI deepfakes. Could trademarking her voice and likeness be the secret to stopping copycats?

Today’s News

TRIUMPHANT RETURN

The Guild is back, baby.

Nearly 20 years later, The Guild is coming back as a movie

The context: Nineteen years ago, Felicia Day created and starred in a show that poked fun at the gameplay and interpersonal dynamics of World of Warcraft clans. The Guild went on to become a shining example of the web series format and ultimately ran for six seasons.

Flash forward to 2026, and Critical Role is huge on Twitch, video games like Minecraft have made it to theaters, nerdy creator groups have their own conventions, and the microdrama boom has revived the webseries format.

The comeback: In other words, the time is ripe for the return of The Guild—and Day is delivering. The actor/screenwriter/creator is turning to Kickstarter to raise funds for a feature film that will continue the story of The Guild and reunite its principal cast members.

Day could probably get studio backing for the film (after all, The Guild was important enough to be enshrined at the Smithsonian), but doing so would require her to sacrifice her creative vision. As she told Polygon last month, that’s a nonstarter.

Day will get the chance to start telling her story on her own terms once she officially gets the ball rolling on Kickstarter. As of now, a fundraising campaign for a film adaptation of The Guild is listed as “launching soon.”

🌟 SPONSORED 🌟

How did the Diary of a CEO grow a new channel to 2M subs? It all comes down to OpusClip.

The Diary of a CEO is one of the world’s top podcast brands, with 15M+ subscribers across its main channel—but when the Shorts craze hit, The Diary of a CEO team knew they could do more.

Recognizing the growing impact of short-form content, the team launched a second channel, The Diary of a CEO Clips, to showcase highlights from full-length episodes.

And to pull it off, they turned to OpusClip.

OpusClip’s AI clipping technology automatically identifies the most engaging moments from long-form content and turns them into ready-to-publish clips. The result: The Diary of a CEO team was able to build an entirely new Shorts channel without adding more work to their plate.

The Diary of a CEO Clips now claims over 2 million subscribers and has attracted more than 266 million views.

What could you do with OpusClip?

HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰

#BookTok is getting some official buzz.

• TikTok is releasing an official monthly BookTok bestseller list—and Heated Rivalry is #1. (Tubefilter)
  
  

• YouTube is introducing a new AI-powered “Ask YouTube” feature that will provide guided answers to text prompts from users. (The Verge)
  
  

• One day after OpenAI and Microsoft confirmed the end of their exclusive agreement, Amazon has announced that its Bedrock service now offers products powered by OpenAI’s latest models. (TechCrunch)
  
  

• Despite protests from hundreds of employees, Google will reportedly allow the U.S. Department of Defense to access its AI for classified networks. (TechCrunch)

GOSPEL STATS 📈

Outerspace-themed ASMR, anyone?

Top Branded Videos: MrBeast, more MrBeast, and alien ASMR

Gospel Stats’ latest ranking of most-viewed branded YouTube videos is a reminder that some formats never go out of style. At the top of the charts, MrBeast offered up a simple food challenge (and a behind-the-scenes look at one of his other, higher-stakes challenges), while a smaller creator took part in some good old-fashioned ASMR.

🥇 #1. MrBeast x Feastables: Don’t Eat The Spicy Yoshi Egg (85M views)
Thea Booysen has been a frequent guest star in her fiancé’s videos lately. This time around, MrBeast tested the limits of their love by subjecting Booysen to the Spicy Yoshi Egg Gauntlet. The short-form food challenge featured Feastables’ Yoshi peanut butter egg, which is part of the snack brand’s collab with Nintendo for the new Super Mario Galaxy Movie.

🥈 #2. MrBeast 2 x Shopify: How I Tricked The Internet (25.4M views)
MrBeast’s #2 video might have over 25 million views to its name, but it actually capitalizes on the hype of a different video. The second-place upload—which was sponsored by longtime MrBeast partner Shopify—offers viewers a behind-the-scenes look at 50 Streamers Fight for $1 Million.

Shopify also sponsored more than 70 other videos this week, which covered topics ranging from Star Wars to Ivanka Trump.

🎰 #780. Amy Kay ASMR x Raycon: ASMR Worst Alien TSA Agent is Obsessed w/ You (Spaceship Ambience) (203.1K views)
ASMR has an enormous presence on YouTube, so it makes sense that Raycon (as a producer of audio equipment) would target that genre of creators for sponsorships. Add in the recent buzz around NASA’s Artemis II mission, and Amy Kay’s space-themed vid seems like a good bet for some branded backing.

Check out the full branded ranking here and head over to Gospel Stats for more YouTube sponsorship insights.

TUBI TIME

Keith Lee and other top creators are coming to Tubi.

The next slate of Tubi originals features Keith Lee and Sofi Manassyan

The announcement: Tubi is going all-in on creators. Last year, the Fox-owned streaming service brought in former TikTok exec Kudzi Chikumbu to forge creator partnerships, centered YouTube stars like Kinigra Deon in its film development plans, and rolled out a sprawling slate of creator-led originals. Then, early in 2026, veteran digital content exec Billy Parks joined Fox as the head of a new creator studio.

Now, Tubi has announced another original programming slate featuring YouTube and TikTok standouts like food reviewer Keith Lee and Traitors alum Bob the Drag Queen. Lee’s contribution to Tubi will center around FamiLee Day, the all-ages event he is planning for later this year.

The slate: Many of the newest additions to Tubi’s originals slate have previously shown up in our Top 50 charts. Multiformat survivalist Sofi Manassyan will venture into premium territory with Who Did It?, a horror-mystery anthology set to premiere exclusively on Tubi. Other notable creators coming to the AVOD platform include TikToker CelinaSpookyBoo and the stars of the web series Girl Talk.

Tubi is also launching new projects alongside creators it has worked with in the past. After extending its Bloodsuckers franchise with a Tubi original, family channel Rock Squad is now bringing more teen dramas and occult thrillers to AVOD viewers.

WATCH THIS 👀

Malibu teamed up with comedy creator Sabrina Brier.

TikTok is going for a booze cruise

The alcohol ad boom: Age verification technology can be a vital resource for safeguarding vulnerable users on social media—but it can also be used to ensure that TikTok ads for alcoholic beverages reach their target audiences.

That fact hasn’t escaped the notice of alcohol brands. A recent campaign from Malibu (aka the liqueur brand owned by Pernod Ricard) tapped comedy creator Sabrina Brier to promote its new pink-tinted beverage with a “get ready with me”-style video.

Other alcohol brands coming to TikTok include Grey Goose, Espolòn, and St-Germain according to Fast Company—likely because it’s the best way to appeal to a rising generation of consumers who aren’t too keen on drinking. Gen Z accounted for just 4% of U.S. alcohol sales in 2025, and nearly half of adult Zoomers are teetotalers.

If alcohol brands are going to change Gen Z’s mind about drinking, TikTok is the place to do it. More than half of alcohol ad spend comes on digital platforms, and that’s also where America’s young adults turn for product recommendations.

Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe here.​

Want to introduce your brand to Tubefilter’s audience? Sponsor the newsletter.

Today's newsletter is from: Emily Burton, Drew Baldwin, Sam Gutelle, and Josh Cohen.

TOGETHER WITH

It's Tuesday and Spotify is entering its gym bro era with the launch of guided workout playlists and on-demand Peloton classes.

Today’s News

THE BIZ

Getting a senior thesis onto the big screen is….epic.

EPIC: The Musical is headed for the big screen with Jerry Bruckheimer

The origin story: EPIC—aka the modern musical retelling of The Odyssey that became a homegrown sensation on YouTube and TikTok—is getting the Hollywood treatment from Pirates of the Caribbean and National Treasure producer Jerry Bruckheimer.

Songwriter/composer Jorge Rivera-Herrans originally intended for EPIC to be his senior thesis at the University of Notre Dame. But since he began working on the project in 2021 (during the height of COVID), he also decided to post the process on TikTok.

By 2022, Rivera-Herrans began releasing full songs, singing the main part of Odysseus himself. Those self-produced EPs hit charts on platforms like Spotify and Apple Music, and fans across TikTok and YouTube responded by animating their own versions of the musical.

Rivera-Herrans ended up commissioning several of those fans to draw official versions of the songs’ story, then sourced over 20 singers and voice actors with the help of his online community and sewed the finished project into a full movie posted on YouTube.

The film adaptation: According to The Hollywood Reporter, the online success of EPIC quickly caught the music industry’s attention, and “every label” reached out to Rivera-Herrans in 2023. The creator ultimately signed with Atlantic Music Group.

Now, Atlantic’s President, Kevin Weaver, is involved in producing a big-screen adaptation of EPIC. THR reports that the animated musical film is in “nascent stages,” but Creative Artists Agency—which reps Bruckheimer—plans to begin shopping it around to studios and streamers as early as next week.

It’s probably a safe bet to assume Rivera-Herrans will reprise his role as Odysseus for the upcoming film. At least for now, however, it’s too early to tell if any of the fan animation talent or original voice cast will be involved.

🔆 SPONSORED 🔆

Artlist just hit $300M ARR and unveiled its game-changing AI production platform 

The world’s leading creative AI technology platform is heading into spring with $300M in annual recurring revenue, driven by 600% growth in new users in Q1 2026, compared to Q1 2025, and a major announcement for video creators.

Artlist is officially launching Artlist Studio: the AI production platform for creators.

Artlist Studio emulates a real-world, intuitive production workflow with visual decision-making capabilities for high-end results. Creators can now step into the director’s chair to manage every single frame and shot, from casting characters and building locations to precise camera angles. 

Studios and professional filmmakers can increase their output without compromising on cinematic quality with a comprehensive platform of high-end capabilities built around four core pillars:

• Intuitive: Tools built around intuitive, creative decision-making

• Control: Precise direction over every stage of pre-production, production, and post

• Scalable: Maintain total visual consistency across your entire production as you scale

• Collaborative: Built for how professional creators and production teams work

Artlist Studio offers creators and teams precise visual control, solving one of generative AI's biggest challenges and ensuring total consistency across entire productions.

HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰

BRUNO isn’t the only colorful channel climbing the YouTube charts.

• Ukrainian YouTube hub BRUNO topped the Global Sub Top 50 chart for the second week running by securing 2.4 million new subscribers to bring his lifetime total above 30 million. (Tubefilter)
  
  

• After nearly seven years, OpenAI will no longer have an exclusive partnership with Microsoft, allowing it to “serve all its products to customers across any cloud provider.” (Ars Technica)
  

  
  

• Letterboxd’s majority owner, the Canadian holding company Tiny, is reportedly seeking a buyer for the film-focused social platform. (TechCrunch)
  
  

• More than 600 Google employees have signed a letter asking CEO Sundar Pichai to ensure that the company’s AI models are not used in classified government projects. (The Verge)

GAME ON

Test driving games on Twitch could lead to a lot of title sales - and revenue for the platform.

Could in-browser game demos be Twitch’s entry into live shopping?

The feature: If you could watch a streamer play a game and then immediately try out a demo for yourself, would you be more likely to purchase the full game?

Twitch’s latest experimental feature seeks to answer that question. The tool—called Game Lift—will make a selection of titles playable within Twitch, adding an interactive twist to the Amazon-owned platform’s offerings.

Zach Bussey, an analyst who often reports on new Twitch features, was among the first people to spot Game Lift in the wild. He described Reanimal as the first title promoted via the feature, meaning Twitch users who search for the horror adventure game will now be prompted to try out a 20-minute demo.

The context: Game Lift represents a rare intervention from Twitch’s parent company. Since acquiring the streaming hub in 2014, Amazon has done shockingly little to synergize with its subsidiary.

Recently, however, that relationship seems to be evolving. Amazon has souped up Twitch’s affiliate marketing business and is now providing a “lift” for game studios that want to convert stream viewers into paying customers.

According to Bussey, Game Lift was “developed by Amazon” as an ad product—but the feature’s potential amid the current social shopping boom is equally intriguing. Ecommerce on social media is particularly big among Twitch’s core Gen Z demographic, and other streaming hubs—especially Whatnot—have harnessed a live shopping industry that now accounts for about $22 billion of annual sales.

With video platforms like TikTok and YouTube also generating billions of dollars of quarterly sales, live shopping is too big for Twitch to avoid. Game Lift seems a sensible way for the platform to bring more ecommerce to its shores.

CREATOR COMMOTION

La’Ryn and five of her six co-starring sons.

Tiffany La’Ryn turned a family YouTube channel into a source of generational security

The creator: Just a few years ago, Tiffany La’Ryn was working at a bank. But she didn’t want to be. So, she quit her job and was soon hired by a YouTuber, who—after seeing her work up close—encouraged La’Ryn to start her own channel.

She followed that advice in 2020. By the next year, she’d grown her socials enough to land a spot in Meta’s Black creator program, We the Culture. The program gave La’Ryn a platform mentor and a stipend from a $25 million budget, and helped her learn the importance of performance and audience data.

At the same time, however, juggling everything from writing and editing to social media management had begun eating into the time La’Ryn could spend with her family. So, in 2022, she brought her six sons in as official channel co-stars and began posting long-form, scripted videos that focused on her entire family.

But six months after transitioning the channel to full-time family, La’Ryn was already thinking about how having six boys could affect their reach.

The growth: To solve that problem, she hired a little sister and tapped adult family members and actors to join for steady roles. La’Ryn’s audience grew as a result, and she started writing more ambitious videos—the kind that called for more actors and real film sets.

La’Ryn knew she needed funds to help offset growing production costs, so she reached out to Spotter. The company ultimately invested in her channel, and La’Ryn was able to scale fast, hiring employees, buying new equipment, and renting sets.

For 2026, La’Ryn says, “one of my goals is better work/life balance, because I think not having that can really take a toll on your creativity. I’m thinking about who I can hire and train to help with that.”

FYI: Spotter is a Tubefilter partner.

WATCH THIS 👀

WWE laid the foundation for WrestleMania 42’s success by wholeheartedly embracing YouTube for the last several years.

WrestleMania 42 was a YouTube sensation

The big event: WrestleMania 42 was a big win for all parties involved. WWE climbed into our Global Top 50 YouTube chart, creator iShowSpeed made his official WrestleMania debut, and over 100,000 fans attended the event across two nights.

YouTube traffic helps explain the ongoing cultural impact of WrestleMania. The WWE YouTube channel collected 319.2 million weekly views (a 73% rise in traffic from the previous week), bringing it to a lifetime total of over 103 billion views.

Established stars were largely responsible for that uptick. Roman Reigns’ thrilling performance during the championship match was a big deal for long-time wrestling fans, and iShowSpeed’s WrestleMania highlight has received just as many views. A single clip of Speed’s frog splash on Logan Paul, for instance, has attracted more than 2.3 million YouTube views and counting.

Want to introduce your brand to Tubefilter’s audience? Sponsor the newsletter.

Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe here.​

Today's newsletter is from: Emily Burton, Drew Baldwin, Sam Gutelle, James Hale, and Josh Cohen.