It’s Thursday and Operation Bluebird has launched Twitter.now, a social platform that founding partner Stephen Coates says is “definitely not affiliated with X in any way. Whatsoever.”

PLATFORM PAY-UP

The settlement: After facing a coalition of attorneys general, Meta has announced a settlement that could ultimately cost it more than $17 billion. Payouts will be split among 47 U.S. states, three territories, and Washington D.C., with the exact amounts varying state by state.

Throughout the case, prosecution argued that Meta’s design choices violated state consumer protection laws and federal statutes like COPPA. The terms of the deal address those concerns by mandating the development and launch of new features on major Meta platforms.

For kids and teens on Instagram, for example, a two-hour time limit will be set as a default. Underage users will also have their push notifications silenced during school hours, and a so-called “night mode” will restrict access between the hours of midnight and 6 a.m.

The future: Meta’s settlement may be historic, but it only resolves a single group of legal cases. Lawsuits brought by individuals and school districts will continue on, with many plaintiffs demanding that companies like Meta accept liability for the negative mental health effects of addictive algorithmic feeds. The outcomes of those cases could lead to the demise of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996, a “safe harbor” provision that has protected social media companies for decades.

Then there’s the matter of YouTube and TikTok. Those companies are also going under the microscope as part of federal trials, and the results of their cases will impact Meta’s settlement. The maximum payout will only be required if YouTube and TikTok adopt similar time limits for teenagers on their platforms.

Rather than seeking a discount, Meta is advising other tech companies to follow its lead. It has described its incoming features as a new “industry standard” that can lead the way to a safer future online.

CREATOR COMMOTION

The brief: The BBC wants original documentaries to publish on its YouTube channel–and it’s willing to pay £50,000 per film.

In a brief on its website, the broadcaster said it’s looking for “ideas that are conceived for YouTube from day one” and target a 16-to-24-year-old audience. It’s specifically seeking submissions that are “built around people rather than issues alone” and have compelling titles and thumbnails, “visible progress,” “a satisfying viewer pay-off,” and “genuine relevance to the target audience on YouTube”—all while aligning with the BBC’s “distinctive […] public-service storytelling.”

If the BBC likes a pitch, it’ll pay £50,000 (~$67K USD) per documentary to compensate production. Accepted and paid documentarians have three months to finish their projects, and the final films must be at least 25 minutes long. The brief is open on a rolling basis for the foreseeable future.

The partnership: The BBC officially joined forces with YouTube this past January. According to Financial Times, it closed a “major content deal” with Google’s video platform just days after the U.K.’s audience ratings org revealed that YouTube had outstripped the BBC’s viewership numbers in December 2025. 

As part of the duo’s agreement, original BBC productions now have an exclusivity window on YouTube before they’re deployed on the broadcaster’s own digital streaming platform, iPlayer.

The BBC’s latest call for submissions reinforces the idea that its main goal with YouTube content is to reach younger audiences. Aspiring documentarians will be pitching for BBC deepwatch, a developing vertical BBC describes as its “YouTube-first documentary destination for 16-24 year-olds, exploring the people, communities and experiences shaping the UK.”

PLATFORM MILESTONES

The stats: OnlyFans has unveiled some hefty creator stats ahead of its tenth birthday. On August 25, the platform announced that 5,076 creators have brought in at least $1 million since the NSFW hub kicked off in 2016.

OnlyFans reported that its creator payouts have totaled $30 billion during its decade-long run, with top stars claiming a significant chunk of the profits. Shannon Elizabeth, an actor known for her role in the 1999 comedy American Pie, reported that she needed just nine days to cross the $1 million mark after launching her OnlyFans earlier this year.

While many of the tech companies that flourished during the pandemic have since struggled to maintain momentum, Elizabeth’s recent haul underscores OnlyFans’ continued success. About 20% of its creator payouts (~$6.3 billion) was delivered to creators during the year that ended on November 30, 2025.

OnlyFans increased its net revenue by 10% year-over-year during that period, topping out at a total of $1.55 billion. Regulatory filings indicate that the platform currently has 2.5 million active creators and 132 million active fan accounts.

The strategy: To keep the good times rolling, OnlyFans is expanding across multiple fronts. It’s deepening its safe-for-work original content library, providing a refuge for edgy brands, and aiding discovery through category-specific hubs.

Bolstered by those improvements, OnlyFans is officially on its way to 10,000 millionaires—and at the current rate, it won’t take another decade to reach that milestone.

WATCH THIS 👀

The classic: Since launching in 2011, Minecraft has sold more than 300 million copies, spawned a hit film, and enabled the rise of a whole wave of digital creators.

Content related to the game has gotten more than a trillion views on YouTube alone—and its official channel is still growing.

On Saturday, Minecraft’s YouTube home celebrated 20 million subs with a dedicated music video. Just a few days later, the hub has already added another 2.5 million subs to that total—and with Minecraft’s first affiliate marketing program adding new dimensions to its economy, we suspect even more growth is on the horizon.

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Today's newsletter is from: Emily Burton, Drew Baldwin, Sam Gutelle, and Josh Cohen.