It’s Monday and OpenAI is making its presence known in the arts scene thanks to the debut of a play based on the short-lived ousting of its CEO, Sam Altman.

Today’s News

COMMUNITY RESISTANCE

TikTokers are using Shop keywords to band together against ICE

The context: Donald Trump‘s second term has already ushered in thousands of arrests by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. In response, protestors and human rights watchdogs have taken to TikTok to alert viewers about ICE activity, organize events, and offer instructions to undocumented immigrants who may face ICE at their homes, schools, or places of work.

The code: Those videos often include a novel code phrase designed to evade censorship: “cute winter boots.” That reference is a euphemism for immigration raids, since winter boots can stop you from slipping on the ice—but it’s not just a clever turn-of-phrase. On an app with a significant ecommerce operation, mentions of clothing are designed to manipulate a recommendation algorithm that seems to favor references to buyable goods. Some creators have even set up TikTok Shop storefronts offering relevant products like Elie Wiesel’s Holocaust memoir, Night.

The movement: The community resistance driving the #cutewinterboots movement isn’t just limited to TikTok. Organizers across social media have used the same energy to draw attention to in-person demonstrations, while resources like People Over Papers have popped up to collect information about ICE raids and organizations like the ACLU have solicited crowdfunding donations.

HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰

• After accusing several advertisers of participating in a “systematic illegal boycott” in August, X has expanded its lawsuit to name Nestle, Lego, and Pinterest as defendants. (TechCrunch)
  
  

• YouTube has announced an expansion of its Communities feature, which gives select creators the ability to interact with viewers in “dedicated spaces” on their channels. (YouTube Help) 
  
  

• New data shows that TikTok’s traffic is almost back to where it was before the platform’s brief shutdown on January 18—but it still isn’t available in all U.S. app stores. (The Verge)
  
  

• ChatGPT parent OpenAI has announced a new “deep research” AI agent capable of using “reasoning to synthesize large amounts of online information and complete multi-step research tasks for you.” (OpenAI)

CREATOR TOUCHDOWN

NFL doubles down on creator spotlights with a Kai Cenat vs IShowSpeed Super Bowl pre-game

The announcement: The NFL is going all in on the digital age. Over the course of just a few days, the league has named YouTube as the official sponsor for its Super Bowl Tailgate Concert, joined forces with the platform to help former players become social media “moguls,” and—most recently—announced a showdown between two of the world’s top creators.

That last event—which will see IShowSpeed and Kai Cenat go head-to-head in an official NFL flag football match on February 8th—was revealed by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell through an X announcement posted January 31. In that video, Goodell (who also showed up to speak at YouTube’s Brandcast in 2023) rings up Speed to invite him to lead a team in “a flag football game down in New Orleans” that’s “going to be streamed on YouTube” the day before Super Bowl LIX. The creator’s response: “Bet. I challenge Kai Cenat.”

The context: Cenat and Speed are no strangers to sports content. The latter creator previously filmed videos with Olympic runner Noah Lyles and New York Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner, while Cenat led a group of kiddos to playoffs for his fictional league (aka the Little Ballers Association). Next week’s game won’t mark Cenat’s first appearance on the NFL’s YouTube channel either: in April 2023, his content group AMP took on RDCWorld for a football matchup that was similarly streamed on the league’s official hub.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE

Khaby Lame vows to “see all the world and its problems” as UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador

The ambassadorship: The most-followed creator on TikTok has been named as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. Khaby Lame—who reaches more than 162 million followers with his hilarious sketches—kicked off his partnership with the United Nations Children’s Fund by visiting the country where he was born. In Senegal, where 90% of locals work informal jobs and 60% of people are under 25, Lame urged his compatriots to reach for the skies:

The context: This isn’t the first time Lame has advocated for social change. Since eclipsing Charlie D’Amelio to become TikTok’s most-followed star in 2022, the creator has used his journey to Italian citizenship to exemplify the trials immigrants must endure to achieve recognition from the government in Rome.

Now, Lame will continue to speak out alongside an organization that has increasingly turned to social media stars and digital-first companies—including TikTok and Moonbug—to amplify its message. UNICEF’s first Goodwill Ambassador from the digital space was Lilly Singh, who ascended to that position in 2017. Other celebrity ambassadors include Millie Bobby Brown, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Danny Glover, Ricky Martin, Leo Messi, Liam Neeson, and Shakira.

LISTEN UP 🎙️

This week on the podcast…

The interview: A new episode of Creator Upload just dropped. On this week’s installment, hosts Joshua Cohen and Lauren Schnipper dig into the transition of sports celebrities to digital stars.

Over the last couple years, we’ve seen several athletes make it on YouTube with podcasts and videos. There’s the Kelce brothers and their chart-topping podcast New Heights, former Tennessee Titans player Taylor Lewan’s Bussin’ with the Boys, and former Chicago Bears player Brandon Marshall’s I Am Athlete. Now, orgs like the NFL and the PGA are responding to that shift with new programs, creator collabs, and more.

Check out the full episode on Spotify and Apple Podcasts to find out more.

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