It's Monday and Meta has announced that its AI chatbot is teaming up with outlets like Fox News to offer “real-time” global news updates. It’s not like we have any evidence that chatbots misreport the news, right?

Today’s News

PLATFORM UPDATES

YouTube may have updated the Shorts algorithm to prioritize newer uploads

The update: Shorts content strategists have noticed a curious trend. On some YouTube channels, viewership of older Shorts has declined dramatically—suggesting that the platform is tinkering with its recommendation algorithm to favor newer uploads.

One operative who noticed that downturn is Stokes Twins CEO Mario Joos. According to the exec, “dozens of channels” experienced a so-called “flattening” in September, when uploads published more than 30 days prior saw abrupt viewership declines (while newer uploads remained unaffected).

Other channel owners have pointed to similar drops in their own Shorts analytics—and voiced concerns about the potential impact of a Shorts algorithm that favors new content. Tim Chesney, for instance, wrote on social media that the apparent update “pushes the creator to produce more instead of better. In the long run, if the trend continues, YouTube will become the same trash bin as TikTok.”

Joos echoed that argument by noting that “it feels more like a push to hit internal targets and compete with TikTok. But if that’s the case, it’s creating a massive overcorrection that hurts almost every creator on the platform.”

The context: Both Chesney and Joos invoked TikTok in their commentary, and the prevailing theory seems to be that YouTube is tinkering with its algorithm in an attempt to keep up with its rivals. This wouldn’t be the first time, either. After falling behind TikTok in terms of raw viewership numbers, Google’s video platform adjusted its view-counting methodology on Shorts earlier this year to make the big numbers go up.

Pushing creators to upload more new Shorts could lead to a similar jump in view counts. But that growth could come at a cost. When YouTube changed its algorithm to prioritize watch time in 2016, for example, some creators found it difficult to keep pace. Now, that story may be repeating itself.

HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰

• Twitch star IShowSpeed is facing a lawsuit from Rizzbot maker Social Robotics after allegedly causing “irreparable damage” to the humanoid bot during a September livestream. (TechCrunch)
  
  

• New data from Sensor Tower suggests that Google’s Gemini has “begun to outpace ChatGPT in terms of download growth, growth of monthly active users, and growth of time spent in app.” (TechCrunch)
  

  
  

• After getting hit with a $140 million fine from the European Commission, X says it has “terminated” the EU executive body’s ad account. (Gizmodo)
  
  

• Meta has reportedly pushed back the planned release date of an upcoming line of mixed reality glasses from 2026 to 2027. (TechCrunch)

CREATOR COLLECTIONS

Facebook Marketplace is celebrating the holidays with creator collections

The collections: Meta is turning Facebook‘s secondhand store into a holiday shopping hub—and shining a spotlight on creators in the process. On Facebook Marketplace, users can now peruse a handful of shoppable collections curated by top influencers.

Those seasonal catalogs can be found within the Facebook Marketplace Holiday Shop (which users can locate by searching “Holiday Shop” within the Marketplace tab). There, visitors will find varied collections that serve a diverse array of gift-giving needs. Shoppers on the lookout for the latest tech gadgets can head over to iJustine’s emporium, while buyers seeking kid-friendly items can turn to The Holderness Family.

The context: Marketplace has played an increased role in Meta’s growth strategy ever since Mark Zuckerberg pledged to return to the spirit of “OG Facebook.” Though the ecommerce hub only launched in 2016—more than a decade after Facebook’s debut—it has long been celebrated for its screaming deals, eclectic interactions, and outsized cultural impact.

Facebook began promoting Marketplace more heavily earlier this year, when staffers crossed the country in an Airstream van to highlight local vendors and commune with shoppers IRL. Now—in the aftermath of Black Friday wins for rivals like TikTok—the platform’s holiday shopping initiative highlights both its creator community and Marketplace’s recently launched Collections feature. (A tool that bears a striking resemblance to a product YouTube rolled out last year.)

In other words, as platforms like TikTok Shop and Pinterest look to siphon off Facebook’s share of the secondhand market, it’s clear that Meta is sprucing up Marketplace to serve as a go-to hub for last-minute holiday gifting.

LISTEN UP 🎙️

This week on the podcast…

“Athletes Go Streaming”: On the latest episode of Creator Upload, hosts Joshua Cohen and Lauren Schnipper dove into the stunning success of Dancing With the Stars, which drew over 9 million viewers to its finale by featuring influencers like Call Her Daddy’s Alex Cooper and Alix Earle (who proved to be a fan-favorite competitor throughout the season).

Also on the discussion list: Tubefilter’s own Sam Gutelle joined the show to talk about Twitch’s 2025 performance and the growing presence of professional athletes on its platform.

Check out the full episode on Apple Podcasts and Spotify for all the details.

The survey: Creator Upload wants your opinion! Take this survey to help us understand who’s tuning in and what you want more (or less) of from the show.

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