Each week, we handpick a selection of stories to give you a snapshot of trends, updates, business moves, and more from around the creator industry.

This week, former Twitch collaborators found themselves embroiled in drama, the biggest kids’ show on YouTube headed for the cinema, and the hottest Gen Alpha meme of the moment inspired fast food deals.

Creator commotion

Mizkif sues Emiru and Asmongold for defamation amid bitter OTK feud. The disgraced streamer says that inaccurate sexual assault allegations against him ruined his reputation, and he’s suing former colleagues who (according to him) fanned the flames of that rumor. The legal action is one part of the widespread fallout that has occurred after Emiru was assaulted by a fan at TwitchCon.

Jesser will be “honorary commissioner” of the rebooted 2K league. The relationship between the NBA and creators is as strong as ever, which means it’s the perfect time to relaunch a video game gauntlet that features the most popular basketball sim. Jesser will make a fine commissioner — and you can bet that this won’t be the last you see of him this NBA season.

Amid a government shutdown, Keith Lee shares his SNAP story. As millions of Americans fear the loss of crucial benefits, TikTok’s favorite foodie is showing his support. Lee knows what it’s like to rely on SNAP, so he’s calling on food brands to donate goods to the families that are currently at risk.

Events and happenings

Creator Camp rolls out a “red carpet in the woods.” That’s the name of an outdoor film screening that will take place in Yosemite National Park. In partnership with Rivian, FUJIFILM, and Epidemic Sound, Creator Camp will gather 100 internet-famous filmmakers for the premiere of the film Two Sleepy People — and that will only be the start for this ambitious project.

After KPop Demon Hunters success, Netflix is bringing Stranger Things to movie theaters. The streamer’s K-pop sing-along ended up becoming one of the theatrical events of the year. For a follow-up, Netflix is putting the final season of Stranger Things on the big screen. The screenings will coincide with the premiere of the ultimate episodes, which will drop on New Year’s Eve.

Games Done Queer raises $51,000 for Lambda Legal Fund. For the first time, Awesome Games Done Quick expanded its speedrunning series with an event specifically for and by queer runners. The strong response to the LGBTQ+ festivities shows that there’s still room to expand the burgeoning world of fast-paced gamers.

Pop culture minute

CoComelon: The Movie is coming out on February 26, 2027. Animation takes a long time to produce, so CoComelon devotees will have to wait more than a year to catch the franchise’s big screen premiere. In the meantime, there are thousands of hours of CoComelon content to discover on the internet, so I think the kids will find a way to pass the time until 2027 rolls around.

Buckle up for The Great American Golf Adventure. Portal A teamed with GMC and the golfers of Good Good to produce a sponsored series that will feature “the most rugged round of golf imaginable.” I can’t even get a birdie in putt-putt, so I don’t think I would stand a chance on custom-designed holes in the Wyoming wilderness. Luckily for Good Good, they’re actually good (good) at what they do.

Where are the KPop Demon Hunters toys? That’s the question Bloomberg is asking after discovering that Netflix’s KPop product line isn’t expected to ship until 2026. If they had only gotten their act together before October 31, they could have made a killing on the Rumi-colored hair dye everyone needed for their Halloween costumes.

Food meets memes

Domino’s and Pizza Hut are both offering ‘6-7’ inspired savings. Gen Alpha brainrot has officially made it to the world of fast food. A discounted Domino’s pizza is a tempting offer, but I have to give credit to Pizza Hut for putting the decimal point in a more appealing position. 67 cents just sounds like a better deal than $6.70, but I think there’s a good chance the ‘6-7’ kids will flock to both businesses.

The Rizzler wants you to buy his “Rizzwich.” That’s the name of a new menu item you can order at Hardee’s locations. Creator consumables are great and all, but I can’t stop laughing at the picture of The Rizzler looking contemplative in his chef’s toque.

Panera teams with TikTok mixologist Whitney Leavitt to add “Dirty Soda” to its menu. First, the fast-casual chain adopted a “Roman Empire menu” to keep up with TikTok trends. Now it’s dipping into that well once again with some help from Leavitt. Panera, you’re so extremely online right now. Go touch lettuce.

The internet is a strange place

How’d we let Madame Web become the biggest thing on streaming? Movies that fizzled out at the box office are roaring to the top of the Netflix charts. A note to studios: Just because streaming audiences appreciate “so bad it’s good” flicks doesn’t mean you have to keep making them.

A YouTube staffer ended up with a key role in the new Bruce Springsteen biopic. Mike Chivaro, YouTube’s Manager of Music Content Operations, has old-school sideburns and some skills on the bass guitar. That was all Deliver Me From Nowhere casting directors needed to see: They put Chivaro in their movie as Garry Tallent, the bassist from Springsteen’s E Street Band. Not bad for a suit!

A man helped pay for his wedding by putting ads on his tuxedo. Look, weddings are really expensive, so I understand the desire to recoup some costs by selling the groom’s duds as advertising space. If the happy couple wants to make big-time revenue, all they need to do is walk down the aisle to the tune of the O’Reilly Auto Parts jingle.

Filed under: Articles, Featured, Homepage Feature, News by Sam Gutelle
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How big is TikTok Shop? Just two years after its U.S. launch, its sales already rival those of a 30-year-old ecommerce platform.

So claims analytics firm EchoTik, which compared TikTok Shop’s gross merchandise value (GMV) to that of eBay. When the two social shopping hubs are paired against one another, eBay still comes out on top — but only barely. The place to go to bid on used items generated $20.1 billion of quarterly sales between July and September of this year. TikTok Shop’s GMV over the same period reached $19 billion.

Almost-kinda-sorta equalling eBay may seem like an inconsequential achievement on the surface, but the astonishing part of this comparison isn’t the relative sales figures — it’s the rapid pace at which TikTok Shop has evolved into a multi-billion-dollar social shopping empire. eBay had a multi-decade head start before its ByteDance-owned rival even existed, and the publicly traded company established its ecommerce presence long before anyone conceived of the term “creator economy.”

Thanks to a strong consumer base in Asia, an aggressive overseas expansion plan, and some regulatory victories in the United States, TikTok Shop has rapidly gained on eBay in the arena of sales. In 2024, Shop’s GMV for the entire year topped out at $33.2 billion, and that figure was itself a massive increase over the previous year.

Even though the threat of a federal ban has loomed over TikTok’s U.S. operations for all of 2025, Americans still provided the biggest chunk of TikTok Shop’s quarterly sales. U.S. consumers accounted for between $4 billion and $4.5 billion in quarterly sales, a number that more than doubled year-over-year. “We have mostly focused on TikTok from this point of view of the TikTok ban, and we have almost forgotten that TikTok Shop’s share in US ecommerce just continues to grow slowly,” independent ecommerce analyst Juozas Kaziukėnas told WIRED.

The most astonishing part of this comapirson is that TikTok Shop might only be getting started. The platform’s significant sales figures in the U.S. have come even as many Americans remain skeptical about social shopping. If the app can convince more of its users to buy into its virtual storefronts, surpassing eBay may only be the beginning. I’m not much of a bidder — hence my lack of experience with eBay — but if I was, I’d bet on TikTok’s continued ecommerce success.

Filed under: Articles, Featured, Homepage Feature, News, TikTok Shop by Sam Gutelle
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2025 may be remembered as the year when streaming platforms eclipsed their linear TV brethren, and a new report offers some data points that show just how dramatic that shift has been. Parks Associates has shared some findings from its S.O.S. State of Streaming report, and the headlining figure relates to the ubiquitous adoption of subscription-based streaming services. The consulting firm found that 91% of U.S. internet households pay for at least one streaming subscription.

That percentage represents the deep level of penetration streaming services have achieved within the U.S. population. That saturation has been evident ever since Netflix ascended to the top of the entertainment world, and it represents a double-edged sword for streaming services.

On one hand, high subscriber counts open the door for aggressive strategies, such as Netflix’s decision to crack down on password sharing and shift some of those freeloaders onto an ad-supported plan. But at the same time, deep inroads into national populations make it harder to acquire new subscribers, posing a challenge for streaming platforms (especially during earnings season).

No matter what you make of the streaming industry’s complicated relationship with the concept of subscriber growth, one thing’s for sure: When it comes to widespread adoption, streaming services are thoroughly dominating more traditional rivals. Parks Associates found that just 41% of the surveyed households are signed up for traditional pay TV — that’s a whopping 50 percentage points behind the rate of streaming adoption.

The average household in the sample pays for six streaming subscriptions, spending about $109 per month to do so. “Streaming is no longer just about content access—it’s about experience, engagement, and profitability,” said Parks VP of Research Jennifer Kent. “The lines between streaming, broadband, and commerce are blurring. The television has become a connected platform—one that unites content, advertising, and transaction opportunities in a single experience.”

At this point, streaming represents the TV-watching experience better than linear networks do. That’s why it soaks up a larger share of ad dollars and has a better reputation than cable among Gen Z consumers. Parks has the numbers to depict that shift in action, and it plans to distribute the full version of the State of Streaming report at its Future of Video: Business of Streaming conference later this month.

Filed under: Articles, Featured, Homepage Feature, News by Sam Gutelle
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Your resident former fashion reporter is here to say: Clothes and accessories are big business these days. Analytics firm GlobalData anticipates the worldwide apparel resale market will reach $367 billion by 2029–and, if that prediction comes true, it’ll mean secondhand apparel sales are growing at 2.7x the rate of firsthand sales.

This is good news for online resale platforms like eBay, Vinted, Depop, Poshmark, and Whatnot (which has raised nearly $500 million of fresh funding this year alone). But in an increasingly busy and crowded market, these platforms–like all content platforms–are trying to find ways to stand out to both sellers and buyers.

Whatnot’s approach has been to embed itself within the creator community, enticing YouTubers, TikTokers, and more to sell their own items and items from partner brands in Whatnot’s high-energy, livestreamed auctions. (For example, Disney YouTuber summerlyyy has amassed 318,000 subscribers by filming herself going around Disney’s theme parks and trading pins with employees. She got a sponsorship from Whatnot to host livestreams selling items from her vast pin collection.)

Now eBay is also tapping our industry for relevance: It teamed up with Emma Chamberlain to auction 100 items from her personal fashion collection. Chamberlain is known for sporting luxe brands, so we’re talking a solid lineup of sweaters, pants, accessories, and of course purses from names like Louis Vuitton, Dior, Prada, Gucci, and more–all listed for a $0.99 starting bid.

The auction ran Oct. 30-Nov. 6, and every single item sold. Most surged up from that 99-cent launch point to sell for hammer prices in the hundreds of dollars, like her long green Prada suit jacket ($300), Givenchy cowboy boots ($475), a black shoulder bag from Tod’s ($270), this Hermès gold bracelet ($315), and a pair of Bottega Veneta glasses ($200).

Some, though, were downright steals, like this pair of ERL jeans that went for $26 and this sample Louis Vuitton x Yayoi Kusama scarf that went for $275 (I know, that seems steep, but in the fashion world sample items are not distributed publicly, so this is a rare find that sold for a lot less than other LV x Kusama items). Chamberlain’s well-known Diesel crossbody bag, the star of her 2022 Coachella look, went for just $106.

A couple pieces crested the $1K mark, including a Prada shoulder bag ($1,375) and a red Louis Vuitton Coussin PM Epi Leather bag ($1,075).

Before you start thinking this’ll be a pretty penny for Chamberlain, know that all her proceeds from these items are going to Save the Children.

“I’ve always loved pre-loved fashion, it’s been a significant part of developing my style since the very beginning,” she said about partnering with eBay. “The eclectic nature of shopping pre-loved has inspired me to think for myself and find pieces that are truly me. […] I’ve discovered so many unique pieces that have become beloved staples in my wardrobe and auctioning this collection exclusively on Ebay feels like a full-circle moment. I am so excited for these items to continue their story as they become essentials in people’s wardrobes.”

This isn’t the first celebrity charity sale eBay has held. In June 2024, it partnered with Elton John, David Furnish, Donatella Versace, Brandi Carlile, Betsey Johnson, Robin Roberts, and Andy Cohen for a sale that benefited John’s AIDS foundation.

And while Chamberlain’s sale is a sign that legacy platforms are continuing to embrace creators on the same level as Hollywood greats, celebrity clothing sales have already left their mark in the creator world. Back in 2019, the Kardashians launched Kardashian Kloset, a digital storefront to sell their personal pre-worn clothes. One of the Kloset’s notable customers was YouTuber HopeScope, whose videos about snapping up the fam’s fabulous fits racked up tens of millions of views and helped take her channel into a new era.

Filed under: Creator, Homepage Feature by James Hale
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Snap has never been shy when it comes to embracing new technology, and its partnership with Perplexity will help it continue its forward march. The parent company of Snapchat and the AI firm known for its contextual answer engine are joining forces to bring an AI-powered search function to users around the world.

The announcement of the Perplexity partnership came amidst Snap’s earnings report for the third quarter of 2025. Snap representatives said that Perplexity will pay $400 million to incorporate its engine into the Snapchat app. That integration will come in the form of a chat window, through which a bot will provide AI-generated answers to user prompts.

Revenue generated from the deal is expected to begin showing in Snap’s 2026 earnings reports. “Our goal is to make AI more personal, social, and fun – woven into the fabric of your friendships, Snaps, and conversations,” Snap CEO Evan Spiegel said in a statement. “This partnership reflects our shared vision for the power of AI to enhance discovery and connection on Snapchat, and we look forward to collaborating with more innovative partners in the future.”

Snap was an early adopter of conversational AI through My AI, a bot that drew a negative reception from the public shortly after its 2023 launch. In the time since, attitudes have changed. In its Q1 2025 earnings report, Snap said that My AI usage was up 55% year-over-year.

These days, AI-powered search is everywhere: Instagram provides it through chatbots, Meta wants to build more of it, and TikTok went straight to the source with a ChatGPT partnership. Ever since OpenAI threw a wrench into the search business, everyone wants a piece — and for Snap, that means a partnership with Perplexity is in order.

As for the rest of Snap’s Q3 2025 earnings report? It was mostly filled with good news. Quarterly revenue rose 10% year-over-year to reach $1.51 billion, while the number of daily active users on Snapchat grew to 477 million. Both of those numbers exceeded analyst projections. The strong quarter, when combined with the promise of the Perplexity partnership, caused Snap’s stock price to rise 25%  during after-hours trading.

Snap execs credited several in-app features as key drivers of year-over-year growth. The TikTok-like Spotlight format has received significant investments, and it is thriving. Compared to last year, four times as much Spotlight traffic is coming on content posted in the last 24 hours, reflecting improvements to the app’s recommendation engine. The Snap Star program was another catalyst, as it continues to include more of the app’s top earners.

But the most impressive stat of all concerns Snap’s OG format: Its users created one trillion selfie Snaps in 2024. Even with all of the app’s innovation, its most basic elements are still commanding attention.

Filed under: Articles, Featured, Homepage Feature, News, Snapchat by Sam Gutelle
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A Texas judge has dismissed the class-action lawsuit filed against Logan Paul for his NFT project CryptoZoo.

Judge Alan D. Albright dismissed the case with prejudice, excusing Paul’s promises about how CryptoZoo would be “a really fun game that makes you money” as “puffery” instead of fraud.

“Defendant Paul’s depiction of the project as one backed by a ‘massive team’ and funded by ‘like a million dollars’ also constitutes puffery,” Albright wrote, then went on to clarify that “puffery” means “an exaggerated, blustering, and boasting statement upon which no reasonable buyer would be justified in relying.”

He said if Paul’s claims about getting a CryptoZoo game off the ground hadn’t been so “vague,” and if Paul had promised a hard launch date and failed to deliver, that might have been “material” grounds for fraud.

The dismissal was filed Oct. 29, 2025, over four years since Paul introduced CryptoZoo. For those who don’t remember (or were blissfully offline during the crypto bro NFT boom), CryptoZoo was pitched as a hybrid NFT/game project: CryptoZoo-the-NFT-collection would launch first, allowing people to buy digital “eggs”; then, once CryptoZoo-the-game launched, the eggs would hatch into (potentially Adobe stock photo-based) jpegs of chimera-esque animals. Hatches generated $ZOO token, CryptoZoo’s cryptocurrency, and animals could be bred to produce hybrids.

CryptoZoo-the-NFT-collection debuted in September 2021, and nearly 3,000 eggs were minted on OpenSea with a starting mint price of .1 ETH. Buyers understandably anticipated using those eggs in the upcoming promised CryptoZoo-the-game.

But the game never came out, and without it, CryptoZoo NFTs, which had tanked in value, didn’t have much functionality.

Dissatisfied buyers were stranded for several years until, in early 2024, Paul offered to buy back $2.3 million worth of CryptoZoo. Specifically, he would buy back every base egg and base animal NFT for 0.1 ETH ($227 then, around $330 now), but would not buy back any $ZOO token.

The only catch was, anyone who sold their NFTs back to Paul had to agree not to sue him. We don’t know how many people took the payout, but we know of at least one who didn’t: Don Holland, who teamed up with Houston-based attorney Tom Kherkher (aka AttorneyTom on YouTube) and filed this class-action suit against Paul in 2023.

Paul, unsurprisingly, is pleased with the results. He covered the dismissal in a 17-minute video that’s also about his recent wedding to Danish model Nina Agdal.

“This is pretty significant for me just because I’ve been on this pursuit to try to clear my name and unwind years of this fake scammer reputational damage narrative that got spun up,” he said (perhaps nodding to his ongoing antagonism with Coffeezilla, the “internet detective” whose deep dive investigation of CryptoZoo got him slapped with a lawsuit of his own from Paul).

Paul also pointed out that the judge noted his project collaborators and co-defendants, Eduardo Ibanez and Jake Greenbaum, “sold large amounts of [CryptoZoo] for an immediate and large profit.”

“So I didn’t,” he said. “And I’ve said that. I never sold the token. I never made a dollar from this project. I wanted to make the best game ever. It failed. But there’s a huge difference between failure and fraud. Business ventures fail all the time, but to imply it’s a scam, to imply deception, is just so objectively false. And I’m so happy that the court now says it.”

He got in a shot at Holland fellow plaintiffs, too: “For anyone who bought the eggs to play the CryptoZoo game, don’t forget I offered to buy all of them back. […] So the people who did not participate, who thought they had a better chance at suing me in the class-action, now lost, because you believed a headline and you bought into this fake narrative that I’m a scammer. A hundred and forty-plus people that were trying to sue me in the class-action lost.”

We’re not legal experts, but we’re curious what kind of precedent this judgment sets. How far can people go in “puffery” before they hit a danger zone? Can other failed projects claim “puffery” instead of false advertising and failure to deliver?

Whatever the case, Paul is scot-free. Now all he has to worry about is the Ontario Securities Commission accusing Liquid MarketPlace, the fractional ownership collectibles site he co-founded in 2021, of being “multi-layered fraud.”

Filed under: Creator, Homepage Feature by James Hale
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Want to know why venture capitalists and startup founders are so eager to get into the world of social shopping? Tubi‘s new report provides some figures that explain why that space is so hot.

As part of its 2025 Retail and Holiday Study, Tubi teamed up with The Harris Poll to survey 1,531 consumers about the role streaming plays in their purchasing habits. The ubiquity of second screens and the rise of so-called “spontaneous shopping” were two of the study’s key themes. About 70% of respondents agreed with the statement “I’m often shopping online while streaming TV and movies,” and 47% of them said they tend to shop spontaneously during their watch time.

So what does spontaneous shopping entail? The term describes a media landscape in which 60% of survey respondents agree with the statement “if I see an ad for a product I want, I buy it right away.” The actual content airing on the “first screen” can also impact purchase decisions. 41% of respondents said that the genre of the TV show or movie they’re actively watching influences their simultaneous shopping. For 73% of the people in Tubi’s sample, watching nostalgic content — which is very much in vogue these days — prompts “purchases from brands I associate with my own past experiences.”

It’ not hard to see why these broad trends excite marketers. Spontaneous shopping doesn’t just drive purchase intent — it generates that intent, and the media playing on the first screen shapes commercial choices. Tubi’s findings suggest that streaming media can offer more direct links to the points of sale compared to traditional ad formats. 87% of respondents claimed to take action (such as research, a purchase, or a visit to a brand’s social channels) in response to an attention-grabbing streaming ad.

At this point, most brands understand the power of social shopping (and if they don’t, they should get with the times). The trickier part of the ecommerce game is figuring out how to best leverage the second screens that are required for spontaneous shopping to take place.

Second screens have been common elements of streaming culture for more than a decade, but it wasn’t until recently that platforms devised clever solutions capable of harnessing that traffic. In 2024, Disney experimented with ads that are native to second screens and capable of reaching active consumers via texts and emails. The same year, Amazon’s Shop the Show initiative draw connections between popular programs and retail items inspired by those franchises.

The NFL arguably has the most sophisticated approach to second screens. After researchers found that 63% of NFL viewers engage with related social media content while watching, the league rolled out numerous experiences catered to fans of specific teams and players.

The 2025 holiday season will be filled with collabs between creators and brands, some of which have already popped up. Those digital storefronts have a lot of potential, but brands can’t lose sight of the spontaneous shopping effect. Consumers who want to buy aren’t wasting time on their decisions, so if you want to reach them, better act fast.

Filed under: Articles, Featured, Homepage Feature, News, Tubi by Sam Gutelle
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Netflix is still an up-and-comer in the podcasting industry, but the streamer’s recent activity suggests that it’s ready to make a bigger splash in the realm of audiovisual shows. In rumored conversations with podcast distribution giant iHeartMedia, Netflix has reportedly sought exclusive rights to the video versions of the content it could potentially acquire.

iHeartMedia controls the distribution rights for hit programs like Las Culturistas and the Jay Shetty Podcast. As podcast traffic continues to soar, platforms that previously focused on non-talk content are looking to expand their horizons. As a result, we’ve seen intense bidding wars for the rights to top podcasts, such as Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy.

Netflix took its first steps into the video podcasting landscape when it teamed up with Spotify to disseminate popular shows in categories like true crime and sports. In that case, the deal was non-exclusive in nature, with the featured podcasts remaining available beyond Netflix.

Now, the streamer is ready for something a little more committed, and Wall Street likes the move. iHeartMedia shares ballooned to their highest price in two years after news of the Netflix negotiations reached the public.e

On the heels of the iHeartMedia rumors, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Netflix is engaging in similar talks with another major podcasting company, SiriusXM. In those negotiations, as with the iHeartMedia dealings, Netflix is reportedly seeking exclusive distribution rights for the podcasts it adds to its library.

With its newfound focus on podcast exclusives, Netflix seems to be following the same game plan it used to reshape the entertainment industry nearly 15 years ago. The company’s identity as a streaming hub began with shows and movies licensed from Hollywood rights holders. From there, Netflix made a bold move into original programming, beginning with 2012’s Lillyhammer.

Once it built an original content library capable of attracting millions of subscribers, Netflix shifted its focus to the acquisition of both licensed and original programming. But even after spending $17 billion on content in 2024, Ted Sarandos and co. are finding that their subscribers are still hungry for more.

That part of the streaming playbook may be difficult to apply to podcasts. Netflix already licenses some shows, and its pursuit of exclusives suggests that it’s keen to add some originals to the mix. But then what? Netflix will have to elbow its way through the competition if it wants to build a podcast library with the same breadth as its TV and film offerings. These days, everyone from Spotify to Tubi is hunting for podcast exclusives — so where can Netflix find an edge?

The nature of video podcasts may help. Netflix needs hours and hours of programming, and long-form audiovisual shows can provide that volume. Netflix is also wary about the needs of subscribers who watch in the background, hence its move to ask screenwriters to do more telling than showing. The rise of video podcasts can be tied to the fact that the format is perfectly suitable for background consumption.

Even with all those advantages, the podcasting industry still finds itself on unstable ground, at least in terms of its long-term outlook. So if Netflix wants video podcast exclusives, it’s right to go out and acquire them as soon as possible. The streamer’s latest push may not be as groundbreaking as Lillyhammer was, but it can at least provide you with something you can throw on while you cook.

Filed under: Articles, Featured, Homepage Feature, Netflix, News by Sam Gutelle
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In February 2025, YouTube turned 20. The video site has gone through a lot over the past two decades, including an acquisition, an earnings glow-up, and multiple generations of star creators. In our 20 Years of YouTube series, we’ll examine the uploads, trends, and influencers that have defined the world’s favorite video site — one year at a time. Click here for a full archive of the series.

Welcome to 2025! If you’ve been following along with this series since the start, thanks for sticking with us as we’ve explored 20 years of YouTube history. We’ve made it to the present day, and things are looking weirder than ever.

Internet culture has become so fragmented that it’s impossible to encapsulate all of 2025 in a single video. Gone are the days when the whole world got down on Friday. Instead, while one audience watches Kai Cenat Mafiathon highlights, another is consuming video podcasts or old-school vlogs. And don’t even get me started on the AI slop.

For this final column, there’s no one cultural touchstone to hone in on. Instead, I want to talk about a pair of channels — one from Japan and another from Italy — that have played off each other in a way that perfectly explains what YouTube is like in 2025. Let’s dive into the zany world of Bayashi and Lionfield.

Let’s start with the obvious: Both of these channels are so hot right now. Bayashi, a Japanese creator with more than 33 million subscribers on his flagship channel, has been a mainstay in our Global Top 50 ranking ever since the advent of YouTube Shorts. Lionfield, consisting of a pair of Italian creators, has earned its own chart-topping results thanks to a strong base of 15.6 million YouTube subscribers.

Bayashi and Lionfield came up separately, and they could likely continue to put up big numbers without each other’s help. Instead, the two hubs have developed a codependent relationship. It’s simple, really: Bayashi cooks grotesque takes on Italian food, and the Lionfield guys critique him for it.

That sounds like a simple collab between loving adversaries — like Lucy pulling the football away from Charlie Brown, but for the digital age — but it has become a complex rivalry that has enriched both participants. We live in an era defined by rage bait, and Bayashi is a master of that domain. He is an expert troll who knows how to push buttons, but he also understands that a good piece of rage bait requires an honest effort. Bayashi clearly knows how to cook Italian food correctly, which makes it that much funnier when he doesn’t.

Bayashi’s fans love him for how silly he is, while many Lionfield subscribers tune in for the duo’s takedowns of dishes that are “not approved.” The more Bayashi flummoxes the food world, the more attention he gets, and the more indignant the Lionfield guys are, the more attention they get. As negative as their collab may seem, it’s a perfect match.

Throughout 2025, Bayashi and Lionfield have added twists to their cat-and-mouse game. Every time Bayashi satisfies one of Lionfield’s demands, he commits fresh Italian food sins for the Campoleone natives to scoff at. Lionfield thought they had gotten through to their Japanese companion when he heeded their advice and didn’t break his spaghetti before putting it in the pot. When he subsequently turned the dish into a spaghetti waterpark, Lionfield’s mood changed.

Even other members of YouTube’s food scene are getting in on the fun. Bayashi is a big enough troll on his own, but when Albert joins the party, the dishes get even nuttier.

If you’re a YouTube oldhead like me, and you’re used to the simple, helpful cooking tutorials produced by the likes of Laura Vitale and Chef John, Bayashi and Albert’s monstrosities feel counterproductive. No recipe can be realistically followed here, and there’s no way “cappuccino pasta” could turn into anything you’d want to serve in your home. The culinary arts only inform these videos as part of the joke. Bayashi only purchases the proper meat for his carbonara (guanciale) so that he can make a shocking swerve into unappetizing territory.

To put it bluntly, Bayashi’s uploads are comedy, not cooking videos. And for all of Lionfield’s hemming and hawing, they’re not much closer to being chefs themselves. The channels that offer standard Italian recipes play to much smaller audiences than the channels that mine rage bait for views. And even on the straightforward hubs, there are still elements of rage bait within the top-performing clips.

YouTube’s food category is hardly about food anymore (at least among its top channels), and that’s not the only category being warped by today’s short-form sensibilities. 12 years after YouTube did away with its response videos, its entire culture is converging, becoming a singularity of call-and-response content.

You can see that shift in the world of politics, where pundits farm rage so aggressively that YouTube doesn’t know what to do with them anymore. You can see it in gaming, where deceptive ads often feature poor gameplay, inspiring potential customers to one-up the competition. For creators like Anthony Fantano and Kareem Rahma, outlandish opinions get airtime because of their ability to inspire indignant replies.

Ultimately, this is all a product of YouTube’s algorithmic recommendations. Videos with significant viewership and watch time are more likely to show up in feeds, and people will stay tuned if they just have to see how Lionfield reacts to Bayashi’s latest pasta screw-up. After spending years analyzing the YouTube algorithm, maybe creators have solved it. They know what works, and that’s what they’re going to do, no matter the category they operate in.

So that’s how you end up with a Shorts feed filled with sloppy cooking, rage-inducing takes, astonishing AI slop, and hilariously wrong trivia answers. It’s certainly not the YouTube experience we started with 20 years ago, but what about 20 years from now? Will YouTube keep evolving, or is its current state its final form?

There are parts of YouTube that feel stagnant. MrBeast is on top year after year, famous creators keep repeating their most popular formats, and as we’ve already discussed, Shorts videos are looking similar to one another, regardless of categorical differences. It definitely feels like we are experiencing the “solved” version of YouTube, but if there’s one thing this 20-year journey has taught us, it’s to not bet against innovation. YouTube’s creator class rose up because it offered a different form of entertainment from what we watched before. There’s always a chance those groundbreakers will shake up the formula once again.

Filed under: Articles, Featured, Homepage Feature, News, YouTube by Sam Gutelle
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Following the debut theater run of its first feature film Two Sleepy People, Creator Camp has signed a three-picture deal with Attend Theatrical Marketplace, which connects independent filmmakers with movie theaters and other exhibitors who might want to showcase their projects.

Creator Camp, as we’ve covered, is an initiative-turned-full-fledged-production-studio that was founded in 2021 by creators Max Reisinger, Simon Kim, and Chris Duncan. Its goal is to give digital content creators the funding and production support they need to make big-screen projects without relying on Hollywood.

Two Sleepy People, from writer/TikTok filmmaker Baron Ryan and writer/actress Caroline Grossman, emerged from a recent partnership between Creator Camp and Patreon where 10 creators were given cash and other support to make their own films. All resulting projects were screened at a 1,000-person film festival in Austin this past June. Two Sleepy People was selected to go further, with Creator Camp scheduling a multi-city theater run.

That run put the film (which stars Ryan and Grossman as “a couple that’s married every night, but by morning–they’re strangers”) in Seattle’s Majestic Bay Theatres, San Francisco’s Palace of Fine Arts Theatre, Los Angeles’s Wilshire Ebell Theatre, and finally El Museo de Barrio in New York City. IndieWire reports earnings per screen were around $10,500.

With Attend Theatrical Marketplace, Creator Camp is sending Two Sleepy People even wider: It’ll open Nov. 14 in 20 markets. As mentioned above, the deal includes two other films, but those haven’t been publicly announced. They might also be films from Creator Camp’s Austin festival, or they could be future projects developed out of the collective’s newly rented studio space.

As for Attend, it was developed by the Fithian Group, a company co-founded by former National Association of Theatre Owners execs John Fithian, Jackie Brenneman, and Patrick Corcoran. The company says Attend “partners with the creative community, movie theater owners, leading research firms and innovators to bring custom, market-ready solutions to the global cinema marketplace.”

Per IndieWire, the Attend marketplace uses machine learning to match films with ideal theaters and audiences.

“Movie theaters are vital places for community. When the movies are there, so are audiences,” Brenneman said. “In partnership with the innovative approach of Creator Camp, we can build on the enthusiastic followers of filmmakers online, connect them directly to theaters, and with Attend create demand-driven theatrical releases.”

“Today’s filmmakers grew up online and they understand their audiences because they engage with them constantly, which has allowed them to build massive, loyal communities,” Reisinger, Creator Camp’s CEO, added. “That direct connection solves a huge challenge in theatrical distribution. Instead of relying on outdated models that guess who will show up, our creators can bring fans to theaters they’ve already cultivated online, turning digital engagement into real-world box office success.”

You can see the full list of theaters showing Two Sleepy People here.

Filed under: Creator Camp, Homepage Feature by James Hale
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Here’s a word of advice for scripted production studios: Make like Sabrina Carpenter and keep it short and sweet.

That sage wisdom is backed up by the results of a survey published by Activate Consulting. For its Technology & Media Outlook 2026, Activate measured consumers’ relative activity on traditional and new media platforms. Among Gen Z respondents, the results were informative: As formats like the microdrama continue to redefine digital consumption, a growing number of twentysomethings are shunning traditional channels in favor of social video.

According to Activate CEO Michael Wolf, who presented the firm’s findings at the WSJ Tech Live event, 43% of Gen Z respondents listed YouTube and TikTok as their preferred destinations for entertainment and news. Microdramas are one of several formats drawing attention; those brief shows are now watched by 28 million U.S. adults, more than half of whom are between the ages of 18 and 34.

That figure represents a precipitous rise for a format that was unknown to most Americans just a few years ago. Microdramas are inspired by short-form shows in China, some of which have been distributed through TikTok’s sister app Douyin (though YouTube is Americans’ top source for microdramas). By serving the appetites of impatient, multitasking viewers, microdramas have become so popular that they’re even reviving the dormant web series trend — at least for now.

The growth of social entertainment hubs comes at the expense of traditional players, who received more bad news from the Activate report. While the time spent on streaming video is expected to rise to an average of four hours and eight minutes per day by 2029, linear TV is projected to drop to one hour and 17 minutes per day.

Naturally, those trends will affect distributors’ bottom lines. Streaming revenue from ads and subscriptions is due for a year-over-year increase of 18%, while traditional TV revenue will decline four to six percent over the same period.

What can the old fogeys even do with this information? YouTube and TikTok are woven into the fabric of Gen Z culture, so much so that platforms initially used for indie entertainment are now trusted sources for Hollywood blockbusters. Linear broadcasters can adapt (as many in the U.K. have), but even if they do, they’re not guaranteed to catch up to YouTube’s massive market share on TV screens. That lead may be here to stay.

Filed under: Articles, Featured, Homepage Feature, News by Sam Gutelle
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TikTok is the hot new tool in the world of political campaigning, and two newly elected government officials have shown just how potent that tool can be. On the same day that Zohran Mamdani secured his status as the next Mayor of New York City, Dutch politician Rob Jetten harnessed his TikTok following to become the youngest Prime Minister in the history of the Netherlands.

Both Mamdani and Jetten are Millennials who defeated more established candidates with some help from their respective social media operations. Mamdani, who now has 1.7 million followers on his official TikTok account, used snazzy videos to paint himself as a yonger, hipper alternative to Andrew Cuomo. Though Cuomo tried to keep up, he couldn’t.

Jetten, who counts 121,000 followers on his official TikTok account, also used his social media activity to relate to common people. “You could see his human side,” one of Jetten’s voters said. “He’s just a nice guy.”

Mamdani can tell his own story of plain talk and a down-to-earth attitude. He ran his campaign on the promise of bold ideas that didn’t needed to be dressed up with fancy, consultant-approved language. “We will leave mediocrity in our past,” Mamdani said during his mayoral victory speech. “No longer will we have to open a history book for proof that Democrats can dare to be great.”

This is the second year in a row that big-name streamers received front-row seats to an elected official’s victory party. Last year, right-leaning influencers like Adin Ross and the Nelk boys earned kudos from Trump and his supporters after helping to propel the Republican nominee back into the White House. This time around, the political affiliations are flipped, but the energy is the same: Mamdani solidified his alliance with left-wing internet personality Hasan Piker by inviting the streamer to join his revelry.

When you look at how thoroughly Mamdani was able to inspire New York City’s young people, you can understand why political consultancies will surely push candidates down the Zohran path in future election years. The culture brought about by the “influencer election” of 2024 is here to stay, and pundits are looking for the next upstart who will ride a wave of TikToks to a coveted office.

Will it be Kat Abughazaleh, a progressive firebrand looking to turn her TikTok success into an Illinois Congressional seat? Or what about Saikat Chakrabarti, whose bid to primary Nancy Pelosi is underpinned by a Zohran-style social media presence?

If you’re a cynical sort, you might conclude that there won’t be another Zohran Mamdani. We’ve already seen thinkpieces suggesting that the idea of the TikTok candidate will be overplayed in upcoming electoral cycles. “The upcoming midterm cycle is going to be very funny,” Piker tweeted after Mamdani got out the vote during a DJ set at a Brooklyn gay bar. “Lots of politicians trying to do stuff like this, not realizing why it isn’t hitting the same way.”

But if you think Mamdani’s ascension can’t be replicated, then you’re not paying attention to what’s happening overseas. Jetten, Romanian President Nicușor Dan, and Cypriot prankster-turned-MP Fidias Panayioutou have all used TikTok to create popular upwellings of support. For the candidates of the future, a robust social media presence will likely become the rule, not the exception.

Filed under: Articles, Featured, Homepage Feature, News by Sam Gutelle
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