Tubefilter

Instagram’s rumored paid tier would let you see who doesn’t follow you back. Would you subscribe to an Instagram version of YouTube Premium or Snapchat Plus? If your answer is ‘yes,’ that’s exactly what Meta is (allegedly) betting on. According to mobile developer Alessandro Paluzzi, Instagram is reportedly working on a paid tier that would unlock several premium features. After digging into the platform’s code, Paluzzi found a line that references “a new paid subscription that will offer new perks, including the ability to create unlimited audience lists.” Other paid features posited by the developer include the ability to “see the list of followers who don’t follow you back” and the power to “sneak a peek at a story without showing that you’ve viewed it.” Subscribe to learn more 👇

TikTok says its economic impact on the E.U. adds up to €31 billion. A report published by TikTok—which pulls from a survey conducted by Public First on the platform’s behalf—found that its direct and indirect impact in the European Union totals an estimated €31B. Public First arrived at that figure (which TikTok says includes “direct, indirect, and induced economic output”) by synthesizing factors as diverse as ad spend, sales value generated by businesses active on TikTok, and music industry royalties. In total, TikTok’s contributions to Europe’s creative sector added up to €2.6B, a sum that equates to about 52,000 full-time jobs. Germany accounted for the largest slice of the €31B pie, with the impact of its TikTok community reaching €7.2B. France—despite its government’s aggressive policing of TikTok—came in second on that list at €5.2B. Subscribe to learn more 👇

Will Alan Chikin Chow deliver Netflix’s next K-pop hit? As Netflix capitalizes on its recent K-pop success, the streamer is teaming up with a creator who reaches nearly 100 million subscribers on YouTube. Alan Chikin Chow is joining forces with HYBE America and Netflix to develop a project that will include the launch of a brand new K-pop act. HYBE—aka the entertainment company that incubated BTS—previously announced its plan to partner with Chow on the development of a new outfit of K-pop hitmakers. Now, Netflix is coming aboard to distribute a series that “will follow a misfit crew of aspiring pop idol rejects enrolled in an arts academy who come together to form a co-ed band.” In addition to appearing on-screen, the stars of that show will also launch music. Subscribe to learn more 👇

Neal Mohan's 2026 letter to creators has arrived. In a recent message, YouTube’s CEO hyped both the platform’s position as the #1 most-watched streaming service in the U.S. and its economic impact. The real meat of Mohan’s letter, however, revolved around AI. The CEO wrote that over 1M channels used YouTube's AI "creation tools" every day in December. That same month, over 20M people directed questions to its ChatGPT-style tool. In 2026, YouTube plans to introduce AI tools that will allow users to generate games with text prompts, create Shorts using their own likeness, and "experiment with music.” Mohan also emphasized that YouTube is “actively building” on established systems to combat “spam and clickbait” and on the “foundation of Content ID…to equip creators with new tools to manage the use of their likeness in AI-generated content.” Subscribe to learn more 👇

TikTok just launched its own microdrama app. TikTok is going all-in on the microdrama boom. The video app has quietly launched PineDrama, a new hub that offers microdramas (aka serial productions distributed in the form of bite-sized episodes) to users in the U.S. and Brazil. Hit shows like Love at First Bite have already drawn 18M views on PineDrama, so TikTok users have clearly caught onto its debut—even if the app was introduced in a stealthy fashion. TikTok’s connections to China make it a clear contender in the microdrama space, but it’s hardly the only platform looking to capitalize on the genre’s sudden popularity. As TikTok brought PineDrama to market, Holywater—the Ukrainian firm behind the microdrama app My Drama—announced a $22M Series A round to build on the big year it had in 2025. Subscribe to learn more 👇

YouTube is expanding monetization for controversial content. According to an update posted to the platform’s Creator Insider channel, videos that touch on certain sensitive issues will now be eligible for full monetization—as long as they avoid graphic depictions of those subjects. Here’s what Conor Kavanagh (aka YouTube’s Head of Monetization Policy Experience) had to say about the change: “This week, we’re updating the advertiser-friendly guidelines to allow content focusing on what advertisers define as controversial issue—specifically abortion, self-harm, suicide and domestic and sexual abuse—to earn full ad revenue when the content is dramatized or discussed in a non-drastic manner.” Subscribe to learn more 👇

TikTok says “curiosity detours” will captivate users in 2026. TikTok‘s close connection to young consumers is an essential part of its pitch to brands—but if it’s going to sell its relevancy among Gen Z, it needs to stay on top of the cohort’s rapidly changing preferences. That’s where TikTok Next comes in.  For the sixth year in a row, TikTok is predicting where youth culture is headed over the next twelve months. The prevailing theme of 2026: “Irreplaceable Instinct.” In essence, TikTok believes Gen Z will spend 2026 reviving the intuitive, spur-of-the-moment browsing of the 2000s—a decade when discovery engines like Digg, Stumbleupon, and (early) Reddit dictated websurfing habits. Subscribe to learn more 👇

Governments are cracking down on AI deepfake porn. As the AI boom surges on, the world is reckoning with a startling rise in AI deepfake pornography. According to recent research, X’s AI chatbot, Grok, has helped X users generate an "unprecedented" number of sexual images of women and children (per Bloomberg). A 24-hour analysis of X/Grok content showed the chatbot was generating an average of 6,700 sexually suggestive or “nudifying” images every single hour. In response to that flood of deepfake porn, Indonesia and Malaysia both issued country-wide blocks on Grok over the weekend, making it inaccessible to residents. Then, on January 12, U.K. media regulator Ofcom announced that it would be opening a “formal investigation to establish whether X has failed to comply with its legal obligations under the Online Safety Act.” Subscribe to learn more 👇

Dubai is teaming up with Amazon to woo creators. In 2024, the United Arab Emirates announced a $40.8M governmental initiative dedicated to incentivizing international content creators to live and work in the region. Part of the initiative involved offering creators fast-track access to Golden Visas, which will allow them, their families, and their employees reside in the UAE long-term with tax benefits. Now, that initiative has secured a partnership with Amazon. Under the newly formed Amazon Creators Foundry, UAE-based content creators who join the Creators HQ program (a Dubai-centered membership/workspace included in the $40.8M initiative) will be able to “launch and scale their own products” for sale on Amazon.ae and worldwide (per Entrepreneur). Subscribe to find out more 👇

Microdramas are snagging big investments and top creator talent. As microdramas rise to the forefront of digital entertainment, they’re tapping into the starpower of some major creators. Second Rodeo, the vertical-first company founded and CEO’d by former MrBeast Creative Director Scott Brown, has signed Hannah Stocking to star in its musical microdrama series “Playback.” Stocking currently claims a following of over 70M across TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram, but got her start on Vine way back in 2013. It’s not clear exactly which role the creator will play in “Playback”—which has already wrapped production—but she’s listed as a starring figure.  The drama will premiere in the coming months on the microdrama streaming app My Drama, which is owned by Holywater, the Ukrainian tech firm that recently got backing from Fox Entertainment. Subscribe to find out more 👇