Love the work, hate the slaps: Creators and fans wrestle with the dark side of the micro drama boom
6 min read
'Melania' isn't good. But it isn't for you, anyway.
Even diehard Trump fans might be bored by the documentary about the first lady. But this movie, "Melania," is for an audience of one.
4 min read
YouTube has a big incentive to nuke AI spam — and it's starting to take action
YouTube pulled down over a dozen AI "spam" channels as it looks to protect platform quality and preserve its premium pitch to TV marketers.
2 min read
3 key factors that helped Dhar Mann build a YouTube juggernaut around wholesomeness
The CEO of Dhar Mann's studio said the company's videos offer comforting, uplifting messages, and their inclusive casting lets people see themselves.
3 min read
Judge urges MrBeast to avoid a trial over his burger business and keep his 'dirty laundry' private
In a hearing, a judge advised YouTuber Jimmy Donaldson and Virtual Dining Concepts to settle their legal dispute over MrBeast Burger.
3 min read
Exclusive
Paramount+ is cooking up new features to lure you away from Netflix
Paramount+ is exploring free content, user-generated content, and interactive shopping features, according to a leaked presentation.
5 min read
Hims & Hers attacks the rich in its Super Bowl ad — including a Jeff Bezos lookalike
"We fully expect this will ruffle some feathers," Hims & Hers chief design officer, Dan Kenger, told Business Insider.
2 min read
Exclusive
MITO AI raised $4.5 million to launch project-management software for filmmakers. Read its pitch deck.
Read the pitch deck that MITO AI, a new AI workflow platform for filmmakers, used to raise $4.5 million in funding.
7 min read
'Slow it down a thousand times': How the Minnesota Star Tribune covers the ICE story playing out on social media.
How does the editor of Minnesota's biggest newspaper sift through social media to get to the truth about the ICE chaos on her doorstep? I asked her.
4 min read
What to know about UpScrolled, the app that's surging during TikTok's chaos
UpScrolled is a social media app that launched in 2025. It's now the No. 2 app on Apple's App Store as TikTok deals with glitches.
3 min read
Exclusive
Paramount+ is planning a major move into short-form video, internal documents reveal
Paramount executives want to add short-form video and user-generated content to Paramount+, according to leaked emails and presentations.
3 min read
TikTok probably wasn't censoring ICE posts. It's easy to understand why people think it was.
It's nearly impossible for outsiders to understand how a platform works, whether that's TikTok, Google, or anything else. Skepticism makes sense.
5 min read
Meet the fans fueling a billion-dollar boom in escapist 'micro dramas' full of werewolves and mafia bosses
Micro dramas, often adapted from Chinese web novels, are finding fans with soapy stories and actor-fan engagement.
8 min read
Exclusive
Limy built a platform that helps brands optimize for the era of AI agents. See the pitch deck that helped it raise $10 million.
Limy raised $10 million from investors including Flybridge and a16z to help brands boost their visibility to AI agents.
5 min read
Exclusive
Paramount+ got about 1 million new subscribers the day of its first UFC event, an exec told staffers
Paramount+ snagged about a million new customers on the day of its first UFC event, an exec told employees, as close to 5 million viewers tuned in.
4 min read
CBS News star Gayle King defended top editor Bari Weiss and criticized leakers, leaked audio reveals
"CBS Mornings" star Gayle King gave support for Bari Weiss in a town hall and said she's "very proud" of the work CBS News is doing.
3 min read
Exclusive
Bari Weiss fielded tough questions from CBS News staffers about political bias and the network's future at a town hall
Bari Weiss was grilled by CBS News staffers in an all-hands meeting and said she's not "a mouthpiece for anybody" when asked about political bias.
5 min read
TikTok says a power outage caused a 'cascading systems failure' that messed up its algorithm
TikTok blamed a power outage at a US data center after users reported issues with their For You feeds. TikTok said it hoped for a resolution "soon."
2 min read
Exclusive
Leaked audio: Bari Weiss tells staff CBS News is 'toast' if it can't evolve beyond broadcast news
Bari Weiss outlined her vision for CBS News in an all-hands meeting after ruffling feathers in the months since Paramount CEO David Ellison hired her.
4 min read
young geniuses
How a dating app got a spot on 'Shark Tank' — and scored a $200K investment from Alexis Ohanian and Kendra Scott
Left Field cofounders Kate Sieler and Samantha Martin made it to Shark Tank's stage. Here's how they left with $200,000.
6 min read
Exclusive
FLORA raised $42 million for its creative platform that pulls together top AI tools. Read its pitch deck.
FLORA streamlines creative workflows by integrating AI tools like ChatGPT and Gemini for teams at brands such as Lionsgate and Levi's.
5 min read
Ye, formerly Kanye West, shares what Reddit taught him about manic episodes in full-page apology ad for antisemitism
Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, took out a full-page ad in The Wall Street Journal to apologize, linking his actions to a 2002 car accident.
6 min read
Fox is teaming with top creator Dhar Mann as it races to win micro drama fans
Fox is partnering with Dhar Mann Studios to create scripted video series that will debut on micro drama platform My Drama.
3 min read
What we know about who's buying TikTok's US business
TikTok has finalized a deal to sell parts of its US business. Oracle, Silver Lake, MGX, and Michael Dell are part of the consortium of new investors.
5 min read
Exclusive
Read the memo TikTok's CEO sent staff after closing a deal to avoid a US ban
TikTok CEO Shou Chew sent a memo to staff celebrating the "good news" that the company had finalized a deal to keep its business operating in the US.
4 min read
OpenAI has a $25 billion opportunity in the ad business — but a lot to prove
OpenAI has begun testing advertising in ChatGPT. Ad experts said OpenAI will need to prove a chatbot can actually sell.
6 min read
Exclusive
MrBeast had billion-dollar dreams for his burger venture. Now he's trying to destroy it.
MrBeast Burger is at the center of a bitter legal battle between Jimmy Donaldson and his business partner, Virtual Dining Concepts.
12 min read
The TikTok deal is done. Here's what will change and what will stay the same.
TikTok has closed a joint-venture deal for its US business, handing over some operational control to an investor group.
3 min read
Exclusive
David Ellison shakes up Paramount's data and insights team as his tech vision comes into focus
Paramount is giving more power to a streaming data and insights executive as part of David Ellison's plan to make Paramount into a tech-first company.
3 min read
Football is the biggest thing in America. Chuck Klosterman says that's going to change.
Writer Chuck Klosterman loves football — like most of America. But he thinks the sport's sheer size will ultimately be its demise.
7 min read
Exclusive
Vimeo is laying off staff globally after its $1.38 billion sale to Bending Spoons
Vimeo is letting go of workers globally in a new round of layoffs after selling its business to tech-holding company Bending Spoons.
2 min read
Exclusive
A prominent marketing exec is becoming a partner at a VC firm. Here's her advice for startups that want to 'break through the noise.'
Lindsay Kaplan, a former marketing exec and founder of Chief, is joining consumer VC fund Bullish as a venture partner.
4 min read
Exclusive
Instagram is testing a new definition of 'friends'
Do you care about your follower-to-following ratio? Well, get ready to care about how many "friends" you have.
2 min read
Netflix beats on earnings, but shares dip as the streamer's forecast for Q1 falls short of Wall Street expectations
Netflix reported fourth-quarter results that were slightly above estimates, but shares fell over 4% in after-hours trading.
3 min read
Exclusive
Paramount wants to know how its RTO push is going. Here are the 12 questions it asked employees in a survey.
Paramount issued a return-to-office order and sent employees a survey to hear how in-person work is going so far.
3 min read
Davos 2026
Steven Bartlett says using AI in this way is the most important thing he's done for his business
"The Diary of a CEO" host said at the World Economic Forum in Davos that using AI to translate podcasts into Spanish broadened its reach.
2 min read
Netflix strengthens its Warner Bros. bid as Paramount's David Ellison tries to wreck its deal
Netflix is offering an all-cash bid for Warner Bros. after Paramount's increased pressure on WBD's board.
3 min read
YouTube is reaching a 'tipping point' in convincing advertisers it really is TV
New research suggests advertisers and agencies are shifting YouTube into their TV budgets and out of "online video" and "social" slots.
4 min read
Disney's Star Wars has new leaders who face both big opportunities and traps
Star Wars has new leaders as Lucasfilm chief Kathleen Kennedy steps down. Analysts shared their thoughts on how Disney should manage the franchise.
4 min read
Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos tries to solve his movie problem
Netflix made streaming movies at home a big part of its pitch. Now, as it tries to buy Warner Bros. and its giant movie business, things are changing.
4 min read
TikTok has quietly launched a new micro drama app called PineDrama as the category picks up steam in the US
TikTok rolled out a new app, PineDrama, dedicated to micro dramas as it looks to break into a fast-growing category.
2 min read
How Semafor turned Washington into a profit center
Semafor CEO Justin Smith explains how his company bucked industry trends by focusing on Washington, DC, and the "global leadership class."
6 min read
Disney's nagging problem that's casting a shadow over CEO Bob Iger's final act
Disney's stock is lagging despite CEO Bob Iger's comeback tour. Analysts broke down the reasons and the potential impact his successor could have.
6 min read
David Ellison's Paramount suffers a setback in its legal fight with Warner Bros. Discovery
Paramount suffered a legal setback in its fight for Warner Bros. Discovery, as a judge ruled Paramount "was not misled by any omissions" from WBD.
3 min read
The biggest ethereum treasury in the world just made a $200 million bet on MrBeast's DeFi ambitions
Ethereum treasury Bitmine Immersion is making a big investment in MrBeast's company, which said last year it would launch a financial services platform.
3 min read
How 'Heated Rivalry' fans took over the internet
"Heated Rivalry" shows that fandom is breaking through online in new ways for the HBO show about gay hockey players.
5 min read
Exclusive
Democratic congressman Ro Khanna wants creators to have their own 'bill of rights'
Rep. Ro Khanna is introducing a resolution Thursday, the "Creator Bill of Rights," which proposes new labor protections for digital content creators.
4 min read
Buckle up: Partiful is the new Tinder
Need a new way to flirt in 2026? Try Partiful's new "Crushes" feature that lets you match with mutuals.
3 min read
Brands that skimp on social media marketing do so at their own peril
Social media drove more purchases than ever on US retail sites in November and December, according to a new report from Adobe.
3 min read