[Editor’s Note: Tubefilter Charts is a weekly rankings column from Tubefilter with data provided by GospelStats. It’s exactly what it sounds like; a top number ranking of YouTube channels based on statistics collected within a given time frame. Check out all of our Tubefilter Charts with new installments every week right here.]
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MrBeast hit a huge milestone this week. The North Carolina-based creator now runs the only channel in YouTube history with at least 400 million subscribers, and he reached that benchmark in grand style. The MrBeast channel was the only YouTube hub to get at least two million new subscribers during the final week of May.
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Meanwhile, five other channels got at least one million new subscribers over the same period. The also-rans behind MrBeast are struggling to keep up with Jimmy Donaldson’s blistering pace, but technological advances are starting to level the playing field a bit.
Generative AI has become part of the conflict between India and Pakistan
For weeks, geopolitical tensions in South Asia have brought significant change to our YouTube viewership charts. In particular, India and Pakistan are restating their conflicting claims to the region of Kashmir, bringing millions of views and subscribers to channels from those two countries.
At first, the channels pulling in Kashmir-related viewership made perfect sense. Indians and Pakistanis flocked to news hubs where they could receive the latest updates in the wake of a terrorist attack in the contested region. YouTube became such a useful vector for information that the Indian government chose to shut down Pakistani news channels that were sharing details about the ongoing strife.
What happened next was the sort of weird twist that could only happen on YouTube: More generalized content creators saw how many views India/Pakistan videos were getting, and they decided to get in on the trend, often in ludicrous fashion. In our latest Global Sub Top 50 ranking, there are no South Asian news hubs to be found, but there are multiple channels that are using generative AI videos to draw in millions of subscribers from two of the world’s most populous nations.
The clearest example of what I’m talking about comes on a channel called TISSAVRCARTO. That hub got 513,000 new subscribers during the final week of May, and all of its most-watched Shorts are generative AI slop videos that imagine India and Pakistan as wild animals duking it out in sports stadiums. Something tells me that a dog race isn’t going to decide which country is allowed to have sovereignty over Kashmir.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/B8DNxUXwPbM
TISSAVRCARTO is not alone. While that channel has a clear focus on the India-Pakistan conflict, the events are becoming so newsworthy that more generalized channels are getting in on the commentary as well.
AI Funtoo, for example, is a typical generative AI hub that utilizes pop culture characters like Spiderman and Pikachu. These days, AI Funtoo has added in its own India and Pakistan avatars, and the viewers are rushing in. AI Funtoo reached 35th place in the Global Sub Top 50 by adding 413,000 new subscribers over a seven-day period.
Data via Gospel Stats
Is this trend yet another coup for channels that know how to read and react to domineering short-form trends? Or is it an overly goofy allusion to a serious situation that shouldn’t be the butt of silly videos? All I’ll say is that this phenomenon shows how important news media is on YouTube — and that’s something worth celebrating.
Channel Distribution
Here’s a breakdown of the Top 50 Most Viewed channels this week in terms of their countries of origin:
- India: 15
- United States: 10
- Spain: 3
- Canada, Hong Kong, South Korea, and Turkey: 2
- Australia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Brazil, China, Germany, Japan, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Russia, Taiwan, and Vietnam: 1
This week, 39 channels in the Top 50 are primarily active on YouTube Shorts.
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