Vine is back, and it’s anti-AI.

Jack Dorsey, co-founder and former multi-time CEO of Twitter, has launched “diVine,” a new app that serves as both an archive of around ~500,000 videos from the original Vine, plus lets users post new content–as long as that content is six seconds or shorter, and (crucially) made by a human.

Vine, as you probably know, was the OG short-form video app. It limited clips to just six seconds, forcing an extreme level of creativity and, as a result, gestating an entire generation of timeless memes. Creators like Liza Koshy, Logan Paul, Lele Pons, David Dobrik, Drew Gooden, Thomas Sanders, Danny Gonzalez, Sam & Colby, and Hannah Stocking all grew their first audiences on Vine.

But, as you probably also know, Twitter shut Vine down in 2017, after struggling to find revenue in the ad biz and losing a sizable portion of its user base. Vine has seen a few shots at revival since, but none have worked out long-term.

Will this one survive? Maybe. We are now in the era of short-form, with TikTok and YouTube Shorts bringing record engagement, and microdramas becoming Hollywood’s burgeoning darling.

It helps that this iteration isn’t really looking to become the next billion-dollar platform. diVine’s creation was funded by and Other Stuff, a nonprofit Dorsey launched in May 2025. As TechCrunch reports, and Other Stuff’s goal is to back experimental open source projects “that have the potential to transform the social media landscape.”

With diVine, Dorsey isn’t intending to recoup and Other Stuff’s investment; the app is structured as a public benefit corporation with no revenue model.

So where does that leave creators?

OG Vine posters who don’t want their content included in the ~500,000-strong archive can send diVine a DMCA takedown request, and diVine will remove it. They also have the option to reclaim their original Vine account and the videos they posted. (To do that, they’ll have to be in possession of their original signup email account and/or the other social media accounts listed in their Vine bio.)

Evan Henshaw-Plath, a software developer who worked on Twitter’s earliest days alongside Dorsey at podcasting startup Odeo back in 2004-2006, and now is a member of and Other Stuff, said he hopes creators will be able to monetize their diVine content–both old and new–through brand deals or collabs.

He also told TechCrunch that he likes the direct subscription support model à la Patreon, and also the idea of a “pro” account where creators could have additional features.

Henshaw-Plath, who goes by “Rabble” online, said diVine has already seen interest from several OG creators, including JimmyHere, MightyDuck, Jack and Jack, and the aforementioned Lele Pons. They ended up having a voice in diVine’s development, and encouraged the diVine team to make the app more than a static Vine archive.

“It was actually the Viners who were like ‘no, no–this is way more important than just nostalgia,'” Rabble told TechCrunch. “The users said they wanted something like Vine that would reset social media and filter out AI slop. They’re the ones who told us to wait and get it right. And so that’s what we did.”

Being anti-AI became a core defining component of diVine–one that sets it apart from basically every other social media platform. YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and X are all heavily intertwined with generative AI, since their tech giant parents want to cash in on the bandwagon. Those tech giants are currently finding out how difficult it is to balance ‘make as much money as possible by getting everyone to use our LLMs’ with ‘but wait, now our platforms are full of meaningless garbage.’

BeReal is perhaps the only other example of a major social media platform banning AI.

“I decided that I was going to filter out AI content because I personally don’t like seeing AI content,” Rabble said. “I don’t like feeling tricked. I don’t like the idea that tons of content can be made very quickly and with little humanity or thought.”

diVine’s strategy for staying AI-free requires uploaders to either (a) record their videos directly in the app, or (b) use C2PA to verify the videos were created without generated content.

Thanks to the anti-AI measure, it’s possible that diVine will actually fulfill and Other Stuff’s mission statement and change the landscape of social media. It could become the gathering place for creators and users who are tired of slopification. It could draw traffic from Shorts and TikTok. It could implement a text half of the site and become the new Twitter.

Or it could just be an archive, reminding us of simpler times.

We’ll keep an eye on diVine’s development now that it’s launched into Apple’s App Store, Google Play, and decentralized/open source app marketplace Zapstore.

For now, we have a ringing endorsement from Pons: “Many of us came from Vine, and it was the beginning of everything. An iconic app. It was such a key moment in my own personal journey, and in internet culture, it makes me so happy to see these early classics brought back to life, and to have the chance to make new ones.”

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On the internet, it’s been a roller coaster ride for the humble check mark.

At the height of Twitter’s popularity a decade ago, blue check marks were one of its most important safety features. Public figures could request verification to make sure their followers knew which account belonged to the actual celebrity.

Then, when Elon Musk acquired Twitter and changed its name to X, he democratized blue check marks. Anyone could get one (for a price), and that wide rollout defeated the initial purpose of the feature. The concept of account verification became so watered down that it wound up as a running joke on rival platforms.

When the check mark first hit Twitter, the fakes were humans, not artificial intelligence, but things have changed. As AI-generated deepfakes spread across the internet, platforms are developing tools that help humans protect their likenesses.

Spotify‘s plan to protect creators from AI-related fraud involves a new role for the profile page check mark. Some artist pages now feature a green icon that represents the humanity of the account’s owner. For Spotify, check marks don’t just verify that a page belongs to a public figure — they confirm that it belongs to an actual person.

Several AI-generated musical acts have recently cracked the pop charts, and that trend has sounded alarm bells across the entertainment industry. Engines like Google’s Veo 3 and hyperreal characters like Tilly Norwood already blur the lines between reality and technology. In the musical medium, the lack of visual cues makes it even harder to suss out AI-generated acts.

That’s where the green check marks come in. “The new Verified by Spotify badge shows an artist profile has been reviewed and meets Spotify’s criteria for authenticity and trust,” reads a blog post. “And with Artist Profile Protection (currently in beta), artists now have greater control over what appears on their profile, which helps to ensure the music you see is coming from them.”

The check marks will start showing up on artist profiles in the “coming weeks.” Spotify will add the badges to more accounts as it continues to verify the humanity of its musical catalog.

The verification process won’t stop AI companies from releasing pop songs, but it will be an important aid for the listeners who are sick of the AI boom and the bottomless pit of “slop” content it has produced. And on Spotify’s end, the check marks are a necessary safeguard. After all, if you’re going to release tons of AI-powered features, you might as well take steps to curb the tech, too.

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If you have an Instagram account that only reposts content from other creators, be warned: Meta is coming for you.

The parent company of Instagram is extending a policy that punishes reposts, IP theft, and other forms of low-effort content aggregation. Those posts have already been deprecated on the short-form format Reels, and they’re now getting the same treatment on the OG version of Instagram. Pursuant to a recent policy shift, accounts that repost too many photos and carousels will 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; they simply won’t be able to find other accounts that engage in that type of posting activity.

The battle against reuploaded content has been an area of focus for Instagram in recent years. The platform’s efforts to promote original posts date as far back as 2022, when algorithmic tweaks encouraged creators to share their own work, not someone else’s. Two years after that, an additional algorithm update brought more original content to Instagram feeds.

At the time of that change, Instagram Head Adam Mosseri clarified that content aggregators can still engage in their typical work as long as they meaningfully transform the posts they reupload. Mosseri noted that the algorithmic punishments targeted “unoriginal content that [reposters] didn’t enhance.”

A similar policy is in play as Instagram extends its new ranking system to photos and carousels. “When meme creators add humor, social commentary, cultural references, or a relatable take by incorporating elements such as unique text, creative edits, and voiceover on a photo or video, they’re producing something original,” reads an Instagram blog post. “The best meme creators take third-party content and make it unmistakably theirs by layering in a perspective, joke, or context that wasn’t there before. This is the kind of creativity we want to continue rewarding.”

Those edits must be significant; changing the speed of a video or adding a screenshot that shows the original poster’s name isn’t enough. As with the doctrine of fair use, Instagram’s penalties are aimed at low-effort creators who don’t contribute anything new to the posts they reupload.

The policy shift will help Instagram avoid turning out like YouTube Shorts, where reuploads are so rampant that many top channels become mishmashes of IP and pop culture references. And a platform centered around originality will help Meta pitch its apps to creators.

Still, this feels like a significant transformation for Instagram. The app that once gave us FuckJerry and countless other aggregators is recognizing that promotion of those posts disincentivizes original creators. With a cleaned-up algorithm, however, the creators who put in the most effort will — in theory — reap the biggest rewards.

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iShowSpeed has arguably become the most famous globetrotter on the planet, and a travel company is taking advantage of his worldwide appeal. Expedia has announced a “multi-phase” partnership with Speed that includes sponsored live streams, Expedia-branded vehicles, Caribbean adventures, and much more.

Expedia’s collab with Speed (whose real name is Darren Watkins, Jr.) even has its own homepage. Visitors to Exspeedia.com (get it?) can follow Speed’s current route, unlock behind-the-scenes content from his past travels, and vote on the locations he should visit next.

Given Speed’s activity over the past two years, it’s a bit surprising that it took him this long to link up with a travel company. His continental tours have become the stuff of legend, with his 2024 trip to Southeast Asia breaking viewership records by bringing together millions of fans. Speed’s global exploits have become so popular that some national governments are boosting local tourism by paying him to visit. That’s what Baltic nations Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania did during Speed’s 2025 European swing.

Speed’s latest tour brought him to the Caribbean, where he has raced against Olympic sprinters and invited Expedia to be part of the fun. The digital travel booker sponsored a 12-hour live-streamed event that aired across Speed’s YouTube and Twitch accounts. During the stream, Speed boarded 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.

For Expedia, Speed is a key that can unlock a new generation of travel dollars. Gen Z has different vacation priorities than the generations that came before them, 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.

To serve those Gen Z globetrotters, the Exspeedia website lets visitors plan their own Speed-style tours across the world. “Travel should be for everybody,” Speed said in a statement. “My fans come from everywhere, and a lot of them don’t always think seeing the world is possible. For me, travel is about really experiencing local culture and being part of the place you’re visiting — that’s what this Caribbean journey is all about.”

As popular as Speed is, he’s just one man. Expedia is asking a lot by trusting him to single-handedly flip Gen Z travel on its head. At the same time, the 21-year-old creator has shown that he has the chops to carry a major campaign. He’s been a spokesperson for Beats and he’s getting his own anime-style show; Expedia, like those other partners, is harnessing his appeal while it’s at its peak.

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Alphabet‘s stock jumped more than 6% in after-hours trading following a strong quarterly earnings call–a call that multiple times gave credit to YouTube for driving growth.

It’s been just over six years since Alphabet started disclosing YouTube’s ad revenue as part of its quarterly earnings calls. The first disclosure, released in February 2020, revealed that across all of 2019, YouTube made a total of ~$15 billion in ad revenue. That was up from ~$10 billion total in 2018.

Now? YouTube is raking in $10 billion a quarter.

Q1 2026 earnings showed YouTube brought in $9.88 billion, a 10.7% year-over-year increase from Q1 2025.

The figure was slightly shy of analyst expectations ($9.99 billion), but still an enormous jump from where the platform was pre-COVID–and a sizable portion of Google’s total ad revenue, which came in at $77.25 billion for the quarter, a 15.5% increase from this time last year.

Alphabet also nodded to YouTube as one of the core components driving the company’s overall paid subscriptions to 350 million. This follows a late 2025 announcement that revealed YouTube Premium hit 125 million subscribers. We’re curious to see if that number falls off at all in the wake of a second price hike…

The other subscription growth factor Alphabet pointed to was Google One, a bundle subscription for Google’s AI, cloud storage, and other features. And, speaking of AI, Alphabet/Google CEO Sundar Pichai said Google Search had a strong quarter “with AI experiences driving usage, queries at an all-time high, and 19% revenue growth.”

YouTube may play a part there too, considering creators’ videos are the leading source LLMs like Google’s AI search summaries use to find information for querents. But Google Search’s surge is worth noting for another reason: It might be a bit of a comeback after TikTok proved to be cutting into Google’s traffic by becoming a place for Gen Z to find info, recommendations for products, and even deets on local digs. Recent data shows the youths are still using TikTok as a search engine, but Google clearly hopes pushing AI as hard as possible will keep it on top of the search game.

“This was our strongest quarter ever for our consumer AI plans, driven by the Gemini App,” Pichai said. (Gemini was trained on YouTube videos, a point of contention for creators, and also cites them for answers to users’ questions.)

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

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Clipping is the content creator equivalent of a startup doing digital ads. And if you’ve tuned into any episode of Shark Tank or looked at any ecom guru’s YouTube channel in the last few years, you know that the general approach is more in, more out.

But is that approach working for creators?

A few months ago, a Reddit AMA popped up where the OP purported to have gotten people paid “in total millions” for posting clips of Kick/occasional Twitch streamer N3on on TikTok. “[T]his has […] created a really good side-hustle for people who watch streamers and content creators to really make watching them into their next way of making bread,” OP explained. “we’ve gotten over $2M paid in total to people who we call ‘clippers.'”

Since this is the internet, we couldn’t be 100% certain that post was accurate. Now, though, Business Insider has done a deep dive into N3on’s clipping factory, and it looks like OP was in fact telling the truth.

For those unfamiliar, N3on has ~558K followers on Kick and is known for his gambling streams and being associated with Iggy Azalea. In September 2025, N3on–who’s 21–became partner and co-owner in Azalea’s MOTHERLAND Casino, which describes itself as “the wildest and sexiest online casino and sports betting experience on the Internet.”

Last month, MOTHERLAND was acquired by crypto casino Gamdom in a deal where Azalea and N3on signed long-term ambassador agreements with Gamdom. N3on now regularly streams himself spending thousands on Gamdom’s virtual slots and blackjack.

N3on has also appeared in the news for threatening to dox and sexually assault an underage fan. Kick banned him for that behavior but allowed him to resume streaming after he apologized. He’s additionally faced accusations of viewbotting; those accusations stemmed from a Kick staff member, and N3on denied them.

Now, N3on is pouring money into promoting himself with what BI calls an “army” of clippers. In one recent five-week period, he paid out more than $1.4 million, divvied up among 303 individual clippers. His going pay rate is $40 per 100,000 views–sometimes $50/100K if he “especially wants to incentivize [the clippers],” BI reports.

That cash can add up fast. His top clippers can make as much as $100,000+ each month.

N3on told BI that his clipper network consists of around 1,000 people, about half of whom belong to a group that he and fellow controversy-courting streamer Adin Ross built. That’s not too surprising; clippers have become another category of creator support professional, like editors, so it makes sense that creators would hire their own staff.

What is noteworthy is that the other half of that network is apparently paid by Kick–meaning the platform itself is paying for people to spam TikTok and YouTube Shorts in hopes of bringing more people over to watch its talent. (This aligns with previous comments from Ross.)

N3on told BI that “I feel like my life is clipping now.”

He didn’t provide much hard data to prove this method is working. We don’t know if that $1.4 million translated into sustained follower/viewer adds; BI just reports that while a Kick stream might get 40K live viewers, “a successful clip can fetch millions of views” and open streamers up to brand and celebrity partnerships.

“Chat, clip that” has long been a saying for many streamers, but with clipping turning into a full-fledged marketing biz, some critics say it could be detrimental to creators’ content.

Mustafa Aijaz, SoaR Gaming‘s VP, told BI that “a lot of [what goes on in streams] is staged” because creators are hoping that the more ridiculous their behavior, the more likely that behavior will get them millions of views after the stream ends.

“Audiences will call it out as clip farming. But people still watch it,” Aijaz added.

N3on admitted to BI that he used to do “crazy stuff” on stream in hopes of being clipped, and that he would pay clippers to spread negative PR about him so his name stayed in the headlines.

He also said that clips could be used to salvage underperforming streams, like one where he and Azalea were on a yacht together. That stream ran into technical issues, and “no one actually watched,” he said. But “[t]he clippers made it seem like it was this insane, crazy stream,” which meant that viewers on TikTok “just saw the clips, and they’re like, ‘Wow, N3on and Iggy had a great time on this yacht.'”

N3on is certainly not the only streamer spending this kind of money to get eyeballs on short-form socials. MrBeast has gotten big into this side of the biz: He pays personal clippers $50 per 100K views, and in October of last year launched Vyro, a platform that pays clippers who fulfill briefs from creators and/or brands.

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The Australian government has devised a new way to wring money out of social media platforms, and this time, news organizations stand to benefit. A proposed News Bargaining Incentive would introduce a new tax for Meta, YouTube, and TikTok, all of which would be required to deliver funding to traditional news providers.

The initiative is essentially an updated version of Australia’s News Media Bargaining Code, which passed in 2021. That piece of legislation allowed Australia to appoint independent arbitrators for deals between social media platforms and news orgs. That process, in theory, ensured that platforms paid a fair price for access to trusted news sources.

Major platforms didn’t care for the code, to the point that some of them threatened to block news items in Australia rather than agreeing to arbitration. The proposed update would counter that tactic. If the News Bargaining Initiative is passed, the targeted platforms would have their Australian revenue taxed if they choose not to make deals with commercial news publishers.

“[Journalists’ work] shouldn’t just be able to be taken by a large multinational corporation and used to generate profits for that organisation with no compensation appropriate for the people who produce that creative content,” said Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese during a press conference. “We think that investment in journalism is critical to a healthy democracy.”

Albanese’s administration has made multiple attempts to curb the power of social media companies. The most notable example of that effort is a controversial law that bans Aussie teens from accessing most major social feeds. Though platforms have complied with Canberra’s demands, teens have found numerous workarounds, leading some onlookers to brand the law as a failure.

The News Bargaining Initiative has drawn similar criticisms, with opponents describing it as misguided and overzealous. Meta stated that “the idea that we take [news organizations’] content is simply wrong,” while Google argued that the proposal “misunderstands how the ad market changed and mandates payments from some companies while arbitrarily excluding platforms like Microsoft, Snapchat, and OpenAI.”

It’s certainly fair to say that news organizations could use a boost on social media. That medium is increasingly popular as a news destination, but accounts tied to traditional publishers haven’t attracted as many followers as creators and other independent sources. As Commonwealth countries feel the impact of social media-based journalism, they are trying to figure out the best way to protect local reporters.

The News Bargaining Initiative, however, feels more like a power play than anything else. It is an attempt to determine how much control a federal government can have over the social media sector. Can Australia actually tax platforms, or will they push back as fiercely as they have against the teen social media ban?

We’ll find out in a few months. The new proposal is slated for introduction into the Australian Parliament by July 2, so the targeted platforms have some time to prepare counterarguments before the initiative receives official consideration.

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TikTok Shop‘s push into luxury goods isn’t stopping with the $11,000 handbags it listed. Another industry known for high-priced transactions is the world of fine art, and some artists are now selling their work directly to consumers via TikTok’s retial hub.

One of the first artists to sell pieces on TikTok Shop was Sophie Tea, a U.K.-based painter with a seven-digit TikTok following. According to The Art Newspaper, Tea reached out to TikTok Shop to explore the potential of a fine art category. After getting the go-ahead from the platform, Tea hosted a live stream where she sold her paintings for £2,800 (about $3,773) a pop.

For the artist herself, a TikTok Shop stream functioned as a democratization of the typically stuffy process of art sales. “The move reflects Sophie Tea’s ongoing mission to remove the barriers that have historically made the art world feel exclusive, opaque and inaccessible,” Tea said in a statement. “By selling directly through TikTok Shop, Tea bypasses galleries and intermediaries, allowing audiences to discover, engage with and purchase original art within the same space where creativity and community already thrive.”

On TikTok’s end, the price tags attached to the paintings supported ongoing ecommerce goals. By partnering with luxury icons like Kim Kardashian and listing some goods that cost a little more than the typical Temu purchase, TikTok Shop has looked to shed its reputation as a discount retailer. In the process, it has also raked in huge paydays.

In 2025, TikTok Shop dominated the Black Friday weekend by raking in $500 million from sales in the U.S. alone. “The launch of our fine art category expands the platform into high-value, collectable goods, demonstrating how discovery commerce can support premium products and build trust with both creators and audiences,” TikTok U.K. Head of Home and Living Marco Spaducci told The Art Newspaper.

Perhaps TikTok Shop will one day make the art gallery obsolete, but it has a long way to go before reaching that point. While Tea did sell all of the pieces she offered on her stream (and delivered a 9% commission to TikTok Shop along the way), she encountered numerous roadblocks that added friction to her selling process. Price caps on single items and built-in discounts for first-time shoppers limited her revenue, title rules required her to rename some of her pieces, and a glitch caused some items to be marked as sold while they were still available. TikTok’s rules also mandated that Tea could only sell to buyers based in the U.K.

Ultimately, Tea described the stream as an “absolute shit show,” but that doesn’t mean she’s done listing her work on TikTok Shop. The platform’s fine art category will need some tweaking before it can serve as a viable tool for the average artist, but there are plenty of incentives to encourage that fine-tuning. Artists could potentially reach new customers while TikTok Shop could double down on its high-end pivot. As for the buyers? They could look completely different from the people you’d run into at a gallery show, as long as TikTok can get its act together.

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Back in 2024, Patreon announced its plan to bring a greater “network effect” to its platform. By introducing new features that help active patrons find other accounts that might interest them, Patreon furthered its mission to serve as an all-in-one creator hub.

Now, all Patreon users can be part of the platform’s network. Existing discovery features are rolling out more widely, and Patreon is adding some new tools as well, including a short-form content format titled 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.” Creators can use Quips to preview exclusive perks that can be unlocked by paying patrons. On the other side of the equation, viewers will see Quips from creators they don’t yet support. Through that process, Patreon will act as a recommendation engine alongside its other functions.

Quips — and the redesigned homepage feed that houses them — have a lot in common with TikTok’s For You Page. Patreon, however, has firmly claimed that it’s not a social media platform. Its mission is to empower creators, and its approach to short-form content fits that bill. Rather than keeping viewers scrolling for as long as possible, the Quips format directs homepage visitors to relevant pages. And users who aren’t interested in discovering new accounts can toggle over to a “Memberships-only feed” instead.

“The network we brought to life prioritizes long-term relationships over mindless attention,” reads the blog post. “It makes finding new communities fun without sacrificing the connections creators and fans have already made.”

The other facets of Patreon’s discovery push also put communities first. New Collaboration posts resemble the similarly named feature on Instagram. Collaborating creators can put both their names on joint posts, building tighter connections between their respective patrons.

For a platform that built its name by facilitating close communications between creators and their fans, Patreon’s network-based approach represents a significant shift. Competitors like beehiiv and Substack have challenged Patreon by building robust toolkits for partner creators. By rolling out new features to 300,000 creators and nearly 80 million fans, Patreon is keeping while redefining its homepage at the same time.

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Welcome to our rundown of the most-watched branded YouTube videos of the week.

We’re publishing this snippet of a larger Gospel Stats Weekly Brand Report in order to analyze sponsorship trends in the creator economy. Any video launched in tandem with an official brand partner is eligible for the ranking.

And – as the name up above would imply – all the data comes from Gospel Stats. If you’re interested in learning more about Gospel – and which brands are sponsoring what creators on YouTube – click here. You can also download our YouTube 2025 Sponsorship Landscape Report here.

On this week’s Gospel Stats Brand Report, it’s a smorgasbord of sweet treats. MrBeast and Nick DiGiovanni are in with chocolate, the construction crew behind HAUS PLANS is bringing marshmallow treats, and to top it all off, we have alien girl ASMR for those with a more exotic palate.

Check it all out right here:

#1 Don’t Eat The Spicy Yoshi Egg
Channel: MrBeast
Brand: Feastables
Views: 84,876,157

MrBeast has (in typical fashion) had a lot of guest stars this year. But one face we’re seeing pop up in more videos is his fiancee, Thea Booysen. The two got engaged over Christmas 2024, and now MrBeast has been talking up his plans for the couple’s private wedding ceremony.

But before the nuptials, Booysen has to survive the Spicy Yoshi Egg Gauntlet.

Like most of his advertising Shorts, this video is all about the product on MrBeast’s plate–in this case, the Feastables Yoshi peanut butter egg that’s part of the brand’s overall collab with Nintendo for the new Super Mario Galaxy Movie. Also per MrBeast’s usual fare, this is a challenge: one egg is filled with spice, and the rest are nice (at least, according to the Reese’s grandson).

We suspect we’ll keep seeing Booysen in videos with the rest of the MrBeast crew. As for Feastables, that’s obviously not going anywhere, since it reportedly makes MrBeast more money than YouTube.

#2 How I Tricked The Internet
Channel: MrBeast 2
Brand: Shopify
Views: 25,435,371

OK, quick break from the desserts. MrBeast‘s #2 video this week follows a familiar format: He creates a big viral upload on his main channel, and then uses his side channel, MrBeast 2, to capitalize on the original video’s hype by posting behind-the-scenes content.

The viral video we’re talking about is, of course, 50 Streamers Fight for $1 Million, where MrBeast appeared to pop up in different top streamers’ rooms almost simultaneously. And this secondary upload is about how he pulled it off–aka, recreating all those streamers’ rooms in a massive studio space so he could simply walk from one “room” to the next.

We’ve seen a lot of self-sponsorship from MrBeast lately, between Feastables and his MrBeast Lab toy line. But this one is from his longtime partner Shopify. And while MrBeast is a big endorser for a company, Shopify isn’t limiting itself. It sponsored a wide array of more than 70 other videos this week, covering topics from Star Wars to Ivanka Trump to the benefits of breast milk.

#3 Pringles Hack
Channel: Nick DiGiovanni
Brand: Pringles
Views: 18,354,041

Someone at Pringles is paying attention. The uberviral salty-sweet trend of pouring molten chocolate into a Pringles can is now officially a sponsored moment thanks to a deal with Nick DiGiovanni. The result, though, might not be what you expect.

We try not to spoil videos in these lists, but this one is 29 seconds long. If you’re really anti-spoiler, pause here and go watch it.

OK, you back? Cool.

We’re used to YouTubers glazing whatever product is sponsoring them. That’s kinda the whole deal. And to be fair, DiGiovanni does say he likes Pringles…but he also makes it clear the chocolate addition is not to his taste. Ah well. We’ll get ’em next time.

#4 Making A Massive Pan Of Marshmallow Treats On The Jobsite #sponsored @5hourenergyshot
Channel: HAUS PLANS
Brand: Sam’s Club
Views: 16,978,041

We’ve had HAUS PLANS hit the list before–and with the very same sponsor. Let’s imagine a scenario together. You take a bunch of bored guys on a construction site, give them 5-Hour Energy and access to all their work equipment, and tell them to go nuts with a big bag of marshmallows. What do you think will happen?

We guarantee it’s pretty much exactly what happens in this video. Just guys bein’ dudes, dumping a metric ton of marshmallows into melty golden butter and using an excavator to dump in cereal. Does this look a little like tetanus waiting to happen? Yes. Would we still eat it? Honestly……

This video is the only one 5-Hour Energy sponsored this week, and we get why it consistently powers with HAUS PLANS. Those little energy shots are marketed to busy laborers and other professionals, and with this video, 5-Hour Energy is saying, Look. If they can do this with our product, what can you do?

BONUS #780 ASMR Worst Alien TSA Agent is Obsessed w/ You (Spaceship Ambience)
Channel: Amy Kay ASMR
Brand: Raycon
Views: 203,074

This one is for a very special kind of person. ASMR has an enormous presence on YouTube, and it makes sense that Raycon, producers of audio equipment, would target that genre of creators for sponsorships.

I know we usually give some description of videos, but for this Amy Kay masterpiece? Trust me, you’ve just got to watch it.

…and there’s a lot more data where that came from. If you like our Weekly Top 5, you’ll love everything else Gospel has to offer. Start with our newly released YouTube 2025 Sponsorship Landscape Report, which you can download right here.

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An entire generation of BookTok bait authors now has a new list to hit.

For nearly a century, authors saying they hit “the list” meant they’d made it onto The New York Times‘ weekly bestseller rankings. But now TikTok is doing its own list.

Per The Bookseller, BookTok’s official monthly bestseller list will use two metrics to determine which titles are the internet’s current darlings. First, it’ll use NielsenIQ BookData to look at verified sales data–a method that follows how giants like the Times, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, and more come up with their own bestseller lists.

Then, key to this whole endeavor, TikTok (and its partner Media Control) will look at overall reader/fan engagement across its platform. Raw sales won’t be enough: If the buzz isn’t big enough, the book won’t make the list.

TikTok tested BookTok charts in Germany in 2023, and expanded them to Austra and Switzerland in 2024. Now it’s releasing its first U.K. list, and perhaps in short order we’ll see a U.S. list.

That being said, the first U.K. list doesn’t look too different from what U.S. readers are binging right now.

Topping the first official U.K. BookTok chart is Heated Rivalry, the Rachel Reid m/m hockey romance that’s had online fandom in a chokehold since Crave dropped its TV adaptation last November. The series’ cast and crew are already gearing up for season 2, with the showrunner teasing a “much more serious” plot that’ll have our star-crossed hockey team captains in dire straits (no pun intended).

Other expected list-hitters are a whopping six books from Chloe Walsh, who writes tense, fraught romances; two titles from Sarah J. Maas and her extremely popular series A Court of Thorns and Roses; SenLinYu‘s Alchemised, a Draco/Hermione fanfic with the serial numbers scrubbed off; Freida McFadden‘s The Housemaid, which also just got a screen adaptation; and last up Colleen Hoover‘s It Ends With Us. We won’t get into that.

On top of publishing this list, TikTok is launching a program called the “World’s Biggest Book Club,” which will host IRL BookTok-inspired events plus different activities within the TikTok app.

It’s also partnering with the U.K.’s National Year of Reading 2026, which Dominic Burns, TikTok U.K.’s Head of Operations, said is a chance for TikTok to “inspired communities across the U.K. to rediscover the joy of books.”

“Since TikTok’s inception, #BookTok has grown into a vibrant global community that has not only shaped the literary conversation but has fuelled bestsellers and brought a new generation back into local bookshops,” he added. “To celebrate this milestone year, we’re inviting everyone to join the World’s Biggest Book Club on TikTok, bringing readers together through unique online and in-person moments, to share the stories they love.”

Here’s BookTok’s full first list:

1. Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid
2. Taming 7 by Chloe Walsh
3. House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J Maas
4. Keeping 13 by Chloe Walsh
5. Saving 6 by Chloe Walsh
6. Verity by Colleen Hoover
7. Releasing 10 by Chloe Walsh
8. Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros
9. Redeeming 6 by Chloe Walsh
10. Alchemised by SenLinYu
11. Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas
12. Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros
13. Binding 13 by Chloe Walsh
14. Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
15. The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins, Sawyer Robbins
16. The Secret History by Donna Tartt
17. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah Maas
18. The Night Prince by Lauren Palphreyman
19. The Housemaid by Freida McFadden
20. It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover

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Last year, Tubi went all-in on creators. The Fox-owned streaming service brought in former TikTok exec Kudzi Chikumbu to forge creator partnerships, included YouTube stars like Kinigra Deon in its film development plans, and rolled out a sprawling slate of creator-led originals.

Those moves supported Tubi’s hypothesis that creator content is more authentic than traditional TV fare, so as the calendar turns over to 2026, the ad-supported video on demand (AVOD) hub is doubling down. Earlier this year, veteran digital content exec Billy Parks joined Fox, where he is heading up a new creator studio. Now, Tubi has announced another original programming slate that will bring YouTube and TikTok standouts into the AVOD world.

As Tubi expands its creator push, it is sticking to its principles. Diversity has been a key theme of the platform’s content strategy, and originals led by TikTok food reviewer Keith Lee and Traitors alum Bob the Drag Queen will continue that commitment. Lee’s contribution to Tubi will center around FamiLee Day, the all-ages event he is planning for later this year.

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

As for the new additions to Tubi’s list of partners? Many of them have previously shown up in our Top 50 charts. The streaming hub is eager to work with the creators who outpace their contemporaries in terms of weekly viewership, and Sofi Manassyan fits that bill. The multiformat survivalist is venturing into premium territory with Who Did It?, a horror-mystery anthology that will premiere exclusively on Tubi.

Other notable creators included in the latest Tubi slate include TikToker CelinaSpookyBoo and the stars of the web series Girl Talk. “Tubi continues to be the go-to destination for audiences, where bold creator-driven content lives alongside the biggest Hollywood hits, even from the most niche corners of the internet,” said Tubi GM of Creator Programs and EVP of Business Development Rich Bloom in a statement. “Appetite for this content already has a stronghold with Tubi audiences so we’re continuing to give digital-first creators, who know their audiences deeply, a platform to go bigger and spread their original stories.”

Look for these originals to roll out on Tubi in the coming months. More details about the slate can be found here.

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