It’s Tuesday, and the world’s latest AI innovation is Hot Girl Hotline, a “Dear Abby”-style chatbot that describes itself as “the only AI that solves your situationship.”
Today’s News
✍️ TikTok drops a new report
🇧🇷 Lucan Pevidor takes the lead
📈 This week on the branded charts…
🩹 Creator mental health matters
🛠️ Viewers still love a good gadget
TIKTOK TALK
The data is in. (Photo credit: David Espejo via Getty Images.)
TikTok’s 2025 economic impact included support for 410,000 U.S. jobs
The report: In 2025, TikTok managed to put most of its regulatory issues in the U.S. to bed. As a result, its American economic impact continued to grow throughout the year—and now, we know by exactly how much.
In the latest TikTok U.S. Economic Impact Report, TikTok USDS Joint Venture—which oversees the stateside version of the popular video app—revealed that the platform supported 410,000 U.S. jobs during the 2025 calendar year.
According to the report, which was conducted by research partner PF Global, about 8.5 million of the 200 million active TikTok accounts in the U.S. belong to companies. Those “businesses using TikTok” collectively added $81 billion to the U.S. economy in 2025. Over the same period, TikTok claims to have added $9.7 billion to the U.S. creator economy.
“More than ever, U.S. business owners say their livelihood depends on TikTok’s unique ability to help them reach otherwise unreachable customers and generate new revenue streams.”
The context: TikTok previously reported a €31 billion economic impact in the European Union. Now, TikTok USDS JV is surging forward at a similar pace, with U.S. sales proving talismanic as TikTok Shop stays on track for $100 billion of annual GMV. The U.S. Economic Impact Report claims that over half of U.S. adults have made a purchase due to a TikTok video, while U.S. small businesses generate $35 billion from ads on TikTok.
Like YouTube (which says it made a $60 billion contribution to the U.S. GDP in 2025), TikTok’s contributions to the U.S. economy are clearly on the rise.
HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰
The #20 channel in this week’s Global Sub Top 50 is like a warm hug from grandma.
Lucan Pevidor is back at the top of our latest ranking of most-subscribed-to YouTube channels after adding over 2.1 million new subs in a single week. (Tubefilter)
Instagram is reportedly working on a new “Read Only” mode that would prevent Plus subscribers “from liking, commenting, messaging, following, or viewing stories” while they browse a profile. (Engadget)
TikTok has unveiled Shopping Assistant, “a conversational AI agent” that it says “understands context, remembers user needs, and finds the right products just for them.” (TikTok Newsroom)
TikTok, Meta, and X are pushing back over information notices sent by Ofcom earlier this year, which require wide-ranging moderation metrics that the platforms say represent an unprecedented burden. (Reuters)
GOSPEL STATS 📈
This week we welcome Veritasium back to the Gospel Stats Brand Report.
Top Branded Videos: Flippin’ robotics
Verizon and Veritasium occupy prominent spots in Gospel Stats’ latest Weekly Brand Report, while flippin’ and fightin’ robots take up the rear.
🥇 #1. msnewslady x Verizon: My life keeps changing so my phone has to keep up. @verizon keeps it simple. (48.2M views)
Former reporter Jeannette Reyes has built herself a digital brand by promising to help companies “tell better stories.” One of those companies—Verizon—is the sponsor of her latest chart-topping Short, which spotlights its place in her day-to-day life.
While Reyes was Verizon’s most-watched partner this week at over 48 million views, she wasn’t its only buy. Another Verizon-backed creator, Men in Blazers, claimed a spot in Gospel Stats’ ranking with a video at #5,258.
🥈 #2. Veritasium x Incogni: The Insane Real Engineering of the Nazi Enigma Machine (16.1M views)
Veritasium got its hands on an actual German codebox for a 50-minute deep dive into the inner workings of the Nazis’ code and how mathematician Alan Turing’s team managed to put an end to their atrocities.
The sponsor for this video is Incogni, which promises to scrub clients’ exposed personal information from data brokers’ collections. A prolific YouTuber sponsor, Incogni paid for over 60 videos this week alone.
🎰 #1,108. Maker’s Muse x Snapmaker: I made a Fighting Robot with Flexible Flippers! (241.2K views)
Battle bots are a time-honored tradition for robotics enthusiasts, and 3D printing channel Maker’s Muse is helping keep that spirit alive. A video documenting the development of its latest creation—a fighting robot complete with flippers—was sponsored by 3D printer company Snapmaker.
Check out the full branded ranking here and head over to Gospel Stats for more YouTube sponsorship insights.
CREATOR HEALTH
A virtual support group will give creators a safe space to discuss mental health.
There’s now a monthly virtual support group for creators
The context: Over the past five years, the unique stressors that come with being a content creator have received more acknowledgment. But despite rising awareness, the pressure for creators to be always on and always posting is still at an all-time high.
A 2025 study from Creators 4 Mental Health (C4MH), for instance, found that 62% of North American creators experience burnout sometimes or often as a result of making content. 54% of those creators said they wanted access to peer support networks, but only 27% said they had a safe community they felt provided regular emotional and/or career support.
That’s why C4MH and The Jed Foundation teamed up to launch The Check-In, a monthly virtual support group where creators can meet up in a safe space to get stuff off their chests.
“Creators spend so much time showing up for their audiences…The Check-In gives them a safe place to show up for themselves and each other.”
The support group: The Check-In will take place on the first Wednesday of every month, with each meeting exploring a new theme, bringing in special guests and mental health experts, and hosting “candid conversations about creator life, along with practical tools and resources,” C4MH said in a press release.
C4MH and The Jed Foundation hope that on top of supporting creators themselves, The Check-In can help them prep to discuss mental health with their audiences.
The first Check-In is set to take place on October 7 at 2 p.m. ET. Lazar and JED Senior Media Advisor Courtney Knowles will lead the chat alongside special guest Mychal Threets. Conversation will focus on “how to show up for your community while taking care of yourself, and the importance of reaching out for support if you’re struggling,” C4MH said.
Creators interested in attending can RSVP on C4MH’s socials.
WATCH THIS 👀
You never know what you’ll see on MaviGadget.
Weird gadgets never go out of style on YouTube
The product purveyor: Shorts viewers love uploads featuring the latest gizmos and consumer products, and MaviGadget delivers that content in spades. If you want to see a bedside washing machine or a tennis training device in action, a quick trip to the product discovery platform’s YouTube destination is all you need.
MaviGadget has a long history of topping our ranking of most-viewed channels, but the rise of ecommerce has given the hub an added boost. YouTube is making its platform more shoppable than ever, which is good news for channels that—like MaviGadget—link their videos to product listings.
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Today's newsletter is from: Emily Burton, Sam Gutelle, and Josh Cohen.