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TOGETHER WITH |
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It's Monday and a sequel to The Social Network is on its way, with Jeremy Strong set to take on the role of Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. |
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Today's News |
👀 Tai Lopez faces fraud allegations 🎤 YouTube Music tests out AI hosts 🗞️ Will the TikTok sale affect news? 🤖 Viewbotting rises on Kick 🎙️ This week on the podcast…
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MONEY MOVES |
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The SEC is suing YouTuber Tai Lopez for $112M |
The $112M suit: One of YouTube's original finance gurus is being sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for $112 million. |
Tai Lopez has been on YouTube for over a decade, and was one of the original voices in the whole "hustle bro" movement. Back in 2020, Lopez and Zoosk co-founder Alex Mehr joined forces on a holding company called Retail Ecommerce Ventures (REV). The idea was to buy legacy brick-and-mortar brands that were "distressed" (including Radio Shack, Pier 1 Imports, and Dressbarn), shutter their retail locations, and turn them into trendy ecom destinations. |
To finance these acquisitions, the SEC says, Lopez, Mehr, and Lopez's cousin/REV's COO Maya Burkenroad ran splashy ads that promised investors they'd get all their money back in monthly installments. One ad, for examples, said that for every $300K investors put in, they'd get an unprecedented $60,000 back per year. |
The SEC's suit alleges that Lopez, Mehr, and Burkenroad doubled down by telling potential investors that REV's various companies were "on fire"—when in reality, "while some of the REV Retailer Brands generated revenue, none generated any profits." |
At the end of the day, the SEC says around $112 million of the ~$230 million REV raised was collected through fraudulent dealings, and $5.9 million of investor payments were made through Ponzi means. The suit also alleges Lopez and Mehr spent $16 million of investors' money for personal use. |
The impact: According to scambusting YouTuber Scott Shafer, investors now have control of all the brands previously owned by REV—an arrangement designed to keep investors from suing Lopez and Mehr. But the SEC wasn't part of that settlement, and (after reportedly being tipped off by former REV employees) it filed suit on September 22. |
Lopez' tweeted response: "No matter how horrible the situation, don't ever think you're doomed." |
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In 2026, TikTok, Meta, YouTube, and other top platforms will unite for one industry-changing event: 1 Billion Followers Summit |
In 2025, 1 Billion Followers Summit partnered with the world's top platforms to immerse attendees in the next phase of social media. |
In 2026, those platform spaces will be even bigger, buzzier, and more forward-thinking—with cutting-edge initiatives from Google, Meta, Instagram, YouTube, X, TikTok, and Snapchat. |
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Snag your Summit pass to take part in the YouTube Creator Collective, check out a VR activation from Meta, tune into the annual TikTok Awards, and experience X like never before. With dedicated platform spaces across the summit, you'll be able to fully immerse yourself in the future of the creator economy. |
From January 9-11, 1 Billion Followers Summit will unite digital pioneers, global brands, and visionary creators in Dubai. Will you be there? |
Early bird tickets are on sale now. Visit the 1 Billion Followers Summit site to find out more: |
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HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰 |
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PLATFORM HEADLINES |
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Will a $14B TikTok sale affect how 20% of Americans get their news? |
The deal: Last Thursday, the White House issued an executive order that clears the way for an acquisition of TikTok's U.S. assets. A group of corporate billionaires and venture firms—including Oracle and Silver Lake Management—will take control of a U.S. version of TikTok in a deal that values the upcoming app at $14 billion. |
The arrangement isn't official yet, but a fresh report from the Pew Research Center is already raising questions about its potential impact on U.S. media. Chief among those queries: what does this all mean for the growing percentage of Americans who get their news from TikTok? |
The stats: After surveying a diverse range of U.S. adults, Pew found that 20% of respondents regularly turn to TikTok for news (up from 3% in 2020). |
The platform's status as a Gen Z news source is well-established; Reuters, for instance, reported in 2023 that 20% of 18-to-24-year-olds use TikTok for that purpose. |
But the increasing adoption of TikTok-based news has been driven by older cohorts, too. In the 30-to-49 age bracket, the percentage of people tracking current events on TikTok is up 6% year-over-year to 25%. 2025 is also the first year in which the percentage of 50-to-64-year-olds who get news from TikTok is in the double digits (at 10%). |
The result: TikTok is now the second-most common social media news source, delivering headlines to 55% of U.S. adults. That puts the platform just two percentage points behind X, and slightly ahead of both Facebook and Reddit. |
The impact: When TikTok's growing importance as a news source collides with the Trump administration's dubious commitment to truth, the results could be world-shaping. The President himself said, "If I could, I'd make it 100% MAGA." |
Will consumers still turn to TikTok when it has an algorithm backed by U.S. conservatives, or will the app become a nakedly partisan mouthpiece? |
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BOT BATTLE |
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Kick has a viewbotting problem |
The report: A new whitepaper co-published by data hub Streams Charts and influencer marketing firm Audiencly is exposing the widespread impact of viewbotting (which is the act of using automated software, or "viewbots," to artificially inflate a live stream's or video's viewership numbers). |
By looking for telltale signs of viewbotting (such as high percentages of logged-out viewers and regimented traffic trends), Streams Charts identified channels with a "high chance of viewbotting." |
Viewbots have been in the news recently thanks to Twitch's decision to tighten enforcement of its anti-viewbotting policy in July, a move that potentially led to a platform-wide viewership dip. A subsequent uptick triggered rumors that Twitch had reversed course, although platform reps clarified that its crackdown is as active as ever. |
Streams Charts' whitepaper indicates that Twitch does indeed have its viewbots under control—especially in relation to Kick. |
On Twitch, the prevalence of "suspicious" channels dipped sharply during the third quarter of 2024 and has continued to decline since. Still, Q2 2025 was the first quarter in which at least 10% of Twitch accounts with 50 or more average quarterly viewers "displayed clear signs of persistent viewbotting" (per Streams Charts). |
The outlook on Kick is worse. During Q2 2025, Streams Charts says over 16% of Kick channels with at least 50 average quarterly viewers were suspected viewbotters. |
"Kick's leadership has promised action, but enforcement remains inconsistent, with smaller creators often disproportionately affected while top streamers sometimes evade penalties." | | | | - Streams Charts |
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The impact: Streams Charts and Audiencly make the case that viewbotting isn't just a cheat code for creators looking to get ahead. Instead, it's a wide-reaching phenomenon that—according to Stream Charts Chief Sales Officer Sergii Rudenko—"threatens to undermine the credibility of influencer marketing as a whole" as "brands become increasingly wary of investing in livestreaming." |
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LISTEN UP 🎙️ |
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This week on the podcast… |
"The Rise of Creator Storefronts": On the latest installment of Creator Upload, hosts Lauren Schnipper and Josh Cohen explore the incredible turnaround of Dancing With the Stars (which is seeing a huge ratings spike thanks to TikTok). |
Also on the discussion list: the rest of the world considers a switch to U.S. TikTok, companies like Sephora, Condé Nast, and Best Buy launch their own "creator storefronts," and the NFL dominates second screens. |
Check out the full episode on Spotify and Apple Podcasts to find out more. |
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Today's newsletter is from: Emily Burton, Drew Baldwin, Sam Gutelle, and Josh Cohen. |
