| TOGETHER WITH | | | It's Monday and the KPop Demon Hunters hype is still going strong. After shaking up the box office and the Billboard Hot 100, the Netflix smash is set to hit Magic: the Gathering decks in 2026. | | Today's News | 🎯 YouTube hunts malware ⏪ Watch history comes to Reels 🌎 U.K. YouTube viewers go global 🎙️ This week on the podcast…
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| | ON THE HUNT | | Shhh…YouTube is hunting malware | The big bust: Digital scams get more sophisticated with each passing year—but YouTube isn't letting bad actors go unchecked. The Alphabet-owned video platform recently joined forces with cybersecurity company Check Point to bust a malware operation known as the YouTube Ghost Network. | The Ghost Network convinced its marks to install info-stealing software like Rhadamanthys and Lumma by uploading seemingly innocuous videos, which promised hacks for Roblox games and workarounds for paywalled programs like Microsoft Office. | According to The Hacker News, the YouTube Ghost Network had posted more than 3,000 fraudulent videos since 2021, some of which collected over 290,000 views. As Check Point researchers explained, those significant traffic numbers were part of the malware scheme: by using multiple accounts devoted to specific tasks (such as engaging with the trap videos), the YouTube Ghost Network made its content seem legitimate. | "This operation took advantage of trust signals, including views, likes, and comments, to make malicious content seem safe. What looks like a helpful tutorial can actually be a polished cyber trap." | | | | - Eli Smadja, Check Point |
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| The context: YouTube may be taking steps to tackle malware, but recent developments have only made operations like the Ghost Network harder to uncover. In particular, genAI has proven to be a boon to bad actors while also eroding trust in on-platform content. | YouTube isn't alone in its war against technologically-savvy scam artists, either; viewbotters on streaming hubs like Twitch and Kick are also adopting more advanced technology, requiring security teams to work harder to keep users out of trouble. | | |
| 400+ industry leaders will speak at BRIDGE Summit. Here's a sneak peek at the expert lineup: | From December 8-10, a first-of-its-kind entertainment and media event will unite 60,000+ creators, top brands, and industry decision-makers together in one space in Abu Dhabi, UAE. | The inaugural BRIDGE Summit will join forces with leading platforms—including LinkedIn, Meta, and Epidemic Sound—and expert speakers to offer unprecedented business connections, industry masterclasses, policy-making roundtables, and matchmaking. | Here's a sneak peek at the speakers who will define BRIDGE Summit 2025: | Joanna Coles, Chief Creative & Content Officer at The Daily Beast and Snap Inc. board member David Page, CEO of Viewture Challenge Accepted host Michelle Khare (5.3M YouTube subscribers) Crazy XYZ creator Amit Sharma (34.6M YouTube subscribers) Molecular biologist Hashem Al-Ghaili (34M Facebook followers) Editi Effiong, Director and Co-Producer of The Black Book NFL legend Justin Smith Alex Mashrabov, Founder of Higgsfield AI
| | With 400+ global speakers, 300+ exhibitions, and 7 content tracks, BRIDGE Summit is the world's largest cross-sector summit in media, content, and entertainment-related industries. | Secure your ticket to be at the center of it all: | | | HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰 | | | | GOING GLOBAL | | U.K. viewers travel the world when they log onto YouTube | The study: U.K. YouTube viewers are reportedly looking to other countries for their favorite content. According to Digital i, users from the British Isles watch less local content compared to users from other countries. | In a new study, the U.K.-based software company examined viewership across three content categories (Entertainment, Gaming, and News/Politics) in six countries: Germany, France, Italy, the U.K., Spain, and the U.S. The firm's conclusion: in most countries, the majority of most-viewed YouTube channels belong to native creators. | The U.S. is the most extreme example of that trend, with all but one of its top 30 channels hailing from the states. France and Italy showed similar results, with 28 and 27 native channels in their top 30 rankings, respectively. | The U.K., however, is a totally different story. Only 12 of the top 30 accounts are homegrown. In the Gaming category, none of the top ten channels are British. Instead, that genre was run by international superstars like iShowSpeed and Asmongold and U.S.-based media companies like IGN (#1) and Rockstar Games (#2). | The potential impact: The U.K.'s relative lack of locally-focused viewership may seem like a mere curiosity—but it could have a significant impact on the future of TikTok. With the U.S. set to get a new version of the short-form video platform, it's worth asking what will happen to American content that thrives on the existing TikTok app. | Digital i's findings show that U.S. viewers might not miss British TikTok content if they can no longer access it. If American content is removed from the international version of TikTok, however, it could result in a major shakeup. | | LISTEN UP 🎙️ | | This week on the podcast… | The episode: On the latest installment of Creator Upload, creator economy experts Joshua Cohen and Lauren Schnipper unpack the billion-dollar rise of short-form dramas. Also on the discussion list: Josh unveils his new Gospel Stats platform—and shares exclusive, never-before-seen YouTube sponsorship data—before sitting down with Orca CEO and SoCom founder Max Benator. | So, why have minidramas succeeded where Quibi failed? And what exactly will the future of YouTube sponsorships and social commerce look like?
Find out on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. | | Want to introduce your brand to Tubefilter's audience? Sponsor the newsletter. | Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe here. | | Today's newsletter is from: Emily Burton, Drew Baldwin, Sam Gutelle, and Josh Cohen. |
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