It's Sunday and here’s a handpicked selection of stories to give you a snapshot of trends, updates, business moves, and more from around the creator industry.

But first, Pope Leo XIV is worried that AI chatbots and VTubers will hurt our ability to “distinguish between syntax and semantics.” Essentially, this is Holiness’ way of telling the masses to “touch grass.”

CREATOR COMMOTION

The takeover: Jynxzi has ended Neuro-sama’s run atop Twitch’s subscriber leaderboard. The latter streamer made history by becoming the first AI personality with more active subscriptions than any other Twitch account. That triumph was short-lived, as the world’s most popular Rainbow Six Siege player stormed back to the top of the heap with a Hype Train run.

The menu item: Cici’s Pizza is taking CaseOh’s internet handle seriously. The pie-slinging chain is clearly a fan of the creator’s high-energy Twitch streams, so it rebranded its Mac & Cheese Pizza as the “Mac & CaseOh.” We’re surprised a Mexican chain didn’t try this partnership first, but maybe those brands prefer “queso” to be spelled correctly.

The moneymaker: KSI’s six-figure monthly YouTube revenue was leaked live on TV. During an appearance on the BBC’s Big Show, KSI handed over his phone to host Michael McIntyre, who learned from the creator’s YouTube Studio app that his average 28-day YouTube income is estimated at $105,000. You know you’re a big deal when a six-figure monthly income feels like it should be higher.

AD WORLD

The apology: TikTok is sorry that its switch to a U.S.-only app screwed up so many campaigns. The tech company apologized to advertisers after those buyers experienced decreased volume and missing elements. TikTok blamed the slip-up on the same data center outage it scapegoated for concurrent video upload issues.

The fresh format: Are Meta’s partnership ads serving their purpose? The tech giant’s new format is meant to make its ads a more tempting offer for creators who are used to the favorable economics of YouTube and its 55/45 revenue split. In practice, scaling partnership ads might not be such a simple proposition. The Next In Media newsletter has the details.

The Super Bowl blitz: AI companies are spending big on Super Bowl spots so that they can regain the trust of jaded consumers. It’s a bit counterproductive—even if the ads make us feel better about AI, they’ll be cancelled out by all the weird generative AI imagery we’re bound to see in other Super Bowl ads.

EVENTS & HAPPENINGS

The CKO: The NFL’s Super Bowl creator blitz has turned Dhar Mann into the league’s Chief Kindness Officer. That unique moniker is a fitting title for a man who is best known for his moralizing videos on social media. Mann may be the biggest winner at Super Bowl LX, but he is hardly the only creator who will be featured during pregame broadcasts, ads, and alternative streams.

The Streamer Bowl: Twitch doesn’t have the NFL Sunday Ticket package, but it does have the Streamer Bowl. For the seventh year, pro athletes and streaming stars will join forces to participate in a gauntlet of real-life and video game challenges. The player list includes Cam Skattebo, the New York Giants rookie who has cultivated a unique approach to the Twitch streamer lifestyle.

The charity match: Creators are still relevant in that other football sport, too. The latest soccer showdown contested by creators and retired athletes featured teams captained by Chunkz and Aboflah. I love how nonchalantly the soccer legends play during these charity games—it’s a good reminder of how much skill it takes to make it to the pros. Thierry Henry’s inspired laziness is particularly iconic.

The live event: Keke Palmer and Demi Lovato are on the docket for the TikTok Live Fest. The app wants its next live music production to be a star-studded affair, so it has recruited Palmer as the emcee and Lovato as the headliner. Those luminaries will share the stage with artists who have gotten big on TikTok.

“Chasing 1,000 No’s”: In a world filled with yes-men, Gabriella Carr is determined to be a magnet for the word “no.” The creator is tracking her rejections in a notebook, but if she keeps trying to advance this clever idea, she might find that potential partners want to say yes to her instead.

In fact, that already seems to be where this is headed. Since embarking on her journey of rejections, Carr has secured double citizenship, snagged a role in a play, and become a national pageant title holder. Who knew “chasing 1,000 no’s” could lead to so many yeses?

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