It’s Tuesday and the latest Instagram trend isn’t for the faint of heart. Forget having your photos picked apart by trolls—the real test of strength is asking ChatGPT to give your profile a full-on roast.

Today’s News

• YouTube’s AI summary generator hallucinates a murder (or five) 🔪

• Toys & Colors continues its reign as YouTube’s #1 most-viewed channel of the week 👑

• MrBeast promotes his new toy line from inside a cave 📣

• YouTube’s Creator Liaison offers tips and tricks for “pleasing the algorithm” 🤫

• A TikTok reveals the process behind Ella Emhoff’s viral DNC dress 👗

MURDER, SHE WROTE

Oops: YouTube’s AI chat summary tool hallucinated a fake murder controversy

The murderous mix-up: Pokémon YouTuber Shiny Catherine definitely didn’t murder five kids—but viewers who read the AI chat summary accompanying one of her recent streams might not be so sure.

The blurb shown below was generated by an experimental new YouTube feature, which condenses a YouTube live stream’s chat into a one-paragraph synopsis. In theory, AI chat summaries could be incredibly useful for viewers who aren’t able to tune in live or keep up with the frenetic scroll. So far, however, the experiment seems to have some serious misinformation issues—and YouTubers don’t have any say in whether or not they’re selected to participate.

The consequences of that set-up came to a head with the mislabeling of Catherine’s stream (which definitely didn’t revolve around alleged homicides). Eagle-eyed X users responded to the creator’s post about the miscommunication by theorizing that YouTube’s summary was based on an in-stream discussion of Five Nights at Freddy’s and the game’s kid-killing villain, William Afton.

The response: That flub might sound amusing, but Catherine’s tweets tell a different story. The creator described YouTube’s inaccurate summaries as “problematic and incriminating,” and urged the platform to take action. In response, Team YouTube noted that “it's currently not possible to opt out since this is just an experiment” and encouraged Catherine to submit feedback instead.

The context: YouTube’s decision not to allow creators to opt out (and therefore remove themselves from the data pool) makes sense given the strides it’s taken to train its AI. The platform has been bullish about jumping on the rise of generative intelligence, with CEO Neal Mohan saying it will “reinvent video.” If YouTube hopes to continue down that path without alienating its community, however, it will need to find ways to develop AI tools without potentially compromising creators’ reputations.

HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰

• Toys and Colors once again claimed a spot at #1 in our U.S. Top 50 chart thanks to a seven-day tally of 645 million views. (Tubefilter)
  
  

• X has updated its AI chatbot after receiving complaints regarding election-related misinformation from five U.S. secretaries of state. (AP News)
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• Mark Zuckerberg says top officials from the Biden administration “repeatedly pressured” Meta to “censor” content related to COVID-19. (Financial Times)
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• Luca Maestri will reportedly step down from his role as Apple’s chief financial officer in early 2025. (The Verge)

GOSPEL STATS 📈

Top 3 Branded Videos: Caves, fevers, and a global sports sensation

This week’s round of Top Branded Videos shows both the staying power of giants like MrBeast and the enormous impact of tentpole sports events on YouTube’s content wheel. Here’s how the upper echelons of Gospel Stats’ weekly chart shook out:

🥇 MrBeast x Moose Toys, Swarms: 7 Days Stranded In A Cave (92.2M views)
The MrBeast brand has received recent misconduct allegations, but that doesn’t mean its steady stream of sponsorships has dried up. The MrBeast Lab toy line—which recently hit the shelves in partnership with Moose Toys—got a shout-out from the eponymous creator (who probably appreciated the distraction after being trapped in a cave for days on end).

🥈 Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell x 80,000 Hours: Fever Feels Horrible, but is Actually Awesome! (4.7M views)
Kurzgesagt’s “nihilistically optimistic” videos frequently top Gospel’s weekly charts thanks to their unusual outlook and polished animations. Last week was no different: for the second time in a row, Kurzgesagt snagged the #2 spot with a scientific overview and a sponsorship targeting a niche audience.

🥉 Jenny Hoyos x Olympics: Can I Get on the Jumbotron at the Paris Olympics? #Paris2024 (3.4M views)
Tentpole sports events have a way of turning one-off Shorts into viral hits. Six months ago, Mark Rober’s NFL-sponsored Jumbotron antics reeled in millions of views during the Super Bowl. Fast forward to August, and Jenny Hoyos’ own attempt to get on an Olympic-sized Jumbotron paid off in a major way.

Check out our full article here for info on two bonus videos—and head over to Gospel Stats for more YouTube sponsorship data and influencer marketing insights.

KEEPING IT SHORT

YouTube’s Creator Liaison teaches creators how to please the algorithm in a new Shorts series

The series: Since taking on the role of YouTube Creator Liaison, Rene Ritchie has been committed to educating creators on everything from new features to policy updates. Now—in addition to uploading long-form videos, appearing on Creator Insider, and writing weekly blog posts—the YouTube expert has launched his own Shorts series.

The topics: Since August 19, Ritchie has posted six Shorts in which he and YouTube’s Senior Director of Growth and Discovery, Todd Beaupré, answer creators’ most-asked questions. Here’s what they’ve covered so far:

• How does thumbnail A/B testing work?

• Does the algorithm look at your video file name?

• Does thumbnail A/B testing include CTR?

• Does the algorithm care what video category you choose?

• What’s the secret to pleasing the algorithm?

• How important are tags to the algorithm?

The advice: Those Shorts will serve as a helpful resource for both new and established creators—especially those hoping to please YouTube’s mysterious algorithm. In one video, Ritchie reassured viewers that the only real “secret” to mastering the algorithm is that it “follows the audience, so please the audience.”

The takeaway: That advice might not be the magic hack new creators were hoping for, but it’s still a valuable window into the way YouTube operates. Whether or not the series continues (and we hope it will!), having detailed insights from YouTube authorities organized in one centralized place will benefit creators in all stages of their content careers.

WATCH THIS 📺

Meet the TikToker behind Ella Emhoff’s viral DNC dress

The creator: As one of TikTok’s favorite young designers, Joe Aldo has earned millions of views by dressing celebrities like Kiki Palmer and Never Have I Ever’s Maitreyi Ramakrishnan. Now, one of those designs has claimed a place in U.S. history.

A dress created for Ella Emhoff—aka the stepdaughter of Vice President Kamala Harris—went viral shortly after appearing onstage at the Democratic National Convention. Check out Aldo’s video on the making of Emhoff’s ‘fit to see why the New York Post describes it as an “ethereal” show-stopper.

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Today's newsletter is from: Emily Burton, Sam Gutelle, and Josh Cohen. Drew Baldwin helped edit, too. It's a team effort.