TOGETHER WITH

It’s Friday and Meta’s AI agent has already hit #2 in the App Store—but it’s going to take more than that to catch up to ChatGPT.

BIG TECH

The proposal: Instagram isn’t on board with Australia’s latest proposed social media legislation. If passed, the law would allow users to choose between recommendation-driven feeds or reverse-chronological feeds that exclusively feature posts from people they follow.

Instagram chief Adam Mosseri is adamant that’s not what users actually want. (And, more importantly, it’s not what Meta wants.) The exec told journalists that only a “very vocal minority” of people want to go back to reverse-chronological feeds.

Mosseri went on to say that non-recommendation feeds cause people to “become a bit less interested in the experience and they use it a lot less, which then means there’s less reach to go around.”

He added that reverse-chronological feeds would make users feel “overwhelmed” by branded content, because “it turns out your friends post a lot less than creators, who post a lot less than brands.”

Of course, Australia’s proposed legislation doesn’t just stipulate a reverse-chronological feed; it stipulates a reverse-chronological feed where users only see posts from people/accounts they follow. That means users who don’t want to see brand content can simply not follow brand accounts.

The future: Mosseri’s comments aren’t likely to sway Australian lawmakers. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has described the proposed algorithm legislation as “sensible, pragmatic, practical reform” that “will hold the big tech companies responsible for inaction if they don’t ​follow our laws.”

A similar law also already exists in the European Union. The Digital Services Act has required the largest platforms to offer a feed not built on personal profiling since August 2023, widening to smaller services in February 2024. Platforms interpreted that loosely: Meta gave users chronological follow-only feeds, TikTok just stripped personal data out of the For You algorithm and served regional popularity instead.

Australia's draft specifies a follow-only feed, which is tighter. But as Reuters notes, the Act’s rollout was notoriously difficult. We’re guessing Australia’s proposed legislation would be more of the same.

VidSummit is just weeks away. 

With a fan-free environment and a speaker lineup of 70+ content experts, VidSummit is more than a creator industry conference. 

It’s where digital entrepreneurs learn how to dominate the industry—and where industry leaders reveal the secrets to their success.

On September 30, the editors behind YouTube’s biggest channels will unveil key strategies in a panel titled “Beyond the Timeline.”

Meet the speakers behind the keynote:

From September 29 to October 1, VidSummit 2026 will unite those digital pioneers and 70+ other expert speakers in Dallas, Texas. Visit the website to claim your spot:

HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰

GAME ON

The studio: In 2025, Roblox paid out over $1.5 billion to creators of games and UGC items on its platform. Now, Night wants a slice of that pie.

The Dallas-based talent management company—which reps creators like Kai Cenat, Sam & Colby, Safiya Nygaard, Hasan Piker, and Unspeakable—has launched its own Roblox studio.

Called KUZU, the studio plans to roll out over a dozen titles in the next 18 months. Its debut game, KILLSTREAK!, is already available, and offers a Fortnite-esque drop-and-loot battle royale. So far, the title has reached ~25 million visits with 93,000 favorites and ~500 concurrent players.

The partnership: KILLSTREAK! is emblematic of KUZU’s plan to target gamers who want both the accessibility of playing on Roblox and the sophisticated gameplay loops of AAA and non-Roblox indie titles.

Night isn’t executing that plan on its own. JOGO—the Fortnite and Roblox UGC studio founded in 2023 by creators Typical Gamer (aka Andre Rebelo) and MustardPlays (aka Chad Mustard)—joined Night as an investor and strategic partner for KUZU.

JOGO provides cash and counsel, while the KUZU team (led by veteran game dev James Purell) is responsible for building, operating, and monetizing titles. Mustard told Tubefilter that JOGO is taking a board seat in KUZU using the operating experience it’s gleaned running its own projects to advise Night.

KUZU’s launch comes five months after the closing of Night’s $70 million funding round. As Night SVP and JOGO board member Nick Brotman noted, “Night raised capital to build companies embedded in internet culture, and Roblox is exactly where we want to be.”

BY THE STATS

The report: In an era defined by hyperspecific recommendations, some commentators have argued that the mainstream is a thing of the past.

YouTube disagrees. The platform’s latest Culture and Trends Report is an examination of the mainstream as it exists today. After gathering data in tandem with NRG, YouTube has determined that the mainstream is still alive—and it flows through (you guessed it) YouTube.

The report doesn’t deny that culture is more fractured than it’s ever been. YouTube and NRG found that 67% of 14-to-44-year-olds are watching more channels “no one else they personally know is watching” compared to five years ago. And compared to 2017, the general awareness of top theatrical releases is down nearly 10%.

That dropping awareness, however, also heightens the factors that inform the new mainstream—especially superfandoms. The percentage of “Big Fans” of those theatrical releases is up 4% since 2017. YouTube report cites cultural mainstays like Roblox and anime, which have harnessed the passion of niche fans to evolve into mainstream phenomena.

The complications: YouTube facilitates the discussions that catalyze those cultural evolutions. For example, the Backrooms franchise began on Kane Parsons’ YouTube channel, where a passionate community of fans unpacked deep lore and rich context long before Backrooms became a hit in movie theaters.

As that particular cultural roadmap becomes more common, YouTube’s impact becomes more pronounced. NRG found that 65% of 14-to-44-year-olds agree with the idea “that something feels more real or legitimate when [it shows up] on YouTube.”

YouTube might not be able to resurrect the old monoculture, but it certainly has the scale to create an updated form of culture. After all, the platform now boasts channels with over 500 million subscribers—more than enough people to build a new mainstream all on their own.

WATCH THIS 👀

The collab: Over the last fourteen-odd years, Rhett and Link have entertained Good Mythical Morning viewers with dozens of compare-and-contrast taste tests. Now, one of those segments has spawned a multi-pronged promotional campaign.

The video in question—which evaluated the quality of Whoppers across different locations—inspired Burger King execs to bring Rhett and Link aboard as official taste testers.

The chain is joining forces with Google and Unreasonable Studios to roll out a 360 activation that will see Rhett and Link certify Burger King’s “Whopper Guarantee” and meet its “Your Way Champions” (aka customer satisfaction leaders).

By harnessing Google’s ad solutions, Burger King will broadcast three Rhett and Link-led spots across YouTube and connected TVs. The brand is also taking advantage of a two-week Channel Takeover on the main Good Mythical Morning hub, as well as an integration in a Good Mythical Morning episode. Check out the segment here.

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