[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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For many channel owners, 300,000 lifetime subscribers is a good base on which a recurring audience can be built. For the channels in this week’s Global Sub Top 50, however, that subscriber volume is nothing more than a week’s work.
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Jasmin and James did the double this week by leading both our viewership and subscriber charts. To go along with more than three billion weekly views, the Germany-based duo added 1.3 million new subs, bringing their channel’s lifetime total up to 27 million.
Pranks are back on YouTube. Or maybe they never left.
Once upon a time, during the heyday of creators like Vitaly Zdorovetskiy and Prank vs. Prank, practical jokes were one of the more reliable view magnets on YouTube. Those days have long gone — Vitaly has gone to jail, and the couple that made Prank vs. Prank famous broke up nearly a decade ago — but somehow, the allure of the inescapable prank video remains strong.
In 2026, we’re not seeing as many long-form YouTube pranksters with big followings, the way we did in the 2010s. Instead, the ruffians of the internet have discovered that vertical video formats like YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels are the perfect distribution platforms for prank content.
It makes sense if you think about it: Comedy videos have always done well on Shorts, and pranks are merely a subset of that broader category. Also, in an environment where viewers are liable to swipe past videos, a small dose of the shock factor can go a long way.
One of the new-school YouTube pranksters is currently giving his homeland its lone representative in the Global Sub Top 50. Czech channels like Honest Guide have climbed our rankings in the past, but during the last full week of January, it was FIZIstyle‘s turn to shine. By getting 340,000 new subscribers over seven days, FIZI more than doubled his previous weekly total while moving up to 32nd place in our subscriber chart. Yes, it cost him one of his hands, but I’d say the growth is worth it.
FIZI is not the only practical joker riding his silly schemes into the Global Sub Top 50. SOBU is another prank channel with a signature style that YouTube Shorts viewers can’t resist. The “old man makeup” joke is a classic that was executed beautifully in the MTV franchise Jackass, and SOBU has brought it to YouTube in a big way.
For the first time ever, SOBU cracked the top ten in our weekly rankings. It added 771,000 new subs in a single week to move up to seventh place in our subscriber chart. And based on the channel’s viewership graph, this bit of success may be nothing more than a bold beginning.
Data via Gospel Stats
You may have noticed that both of the prank channels discussed in this post rely on canned gags. Their popular videos feel more like skits than genuine ruses, even if some little kids who watch YouTube Shorts might not be able to tell the difference.
That approach is more than just another trick. It solves for one of big problems prank creators have historically faced. It is hard to maintain a positive reputation when you spend your life pulling fast ones. By making their prank videos more rehearsed, creators like FIZI are putting the spotlight on the way they craft their jokes. That works better with the YouTube Shorts audience, and it may be one reason we’re seeing a prankish resurgence in recent editions of our charts.
Channel Distribution
Here’s a breakdown of the Top 50 Most Viewed channels this week in terms of their countries of origin:
- India: 9
- United States: 7
- Brazil and Hong Kong: 3
- Australia, Japan, South Korea, and Spain: 2
- Argentina, Bangladesh, Belgium, China, Czechia, Egypt, Germany, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Singapore, Taiwan, and Turkey: 1
This week, 35 channels in the Top 50 are primarily active on YouTube Shorts.
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