How the creator economy destroyed the internet

It’s fashionable to talk about the creator economy like it’s a new thing, but the harsh reality is that the creator economy is the media and internet economy now. Platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube generate billions of dollars in revenue in ways that have created some of the richest companies in the history of the world, and they so dominate culture that the future of politics often looks more like creator drama than actual policymaking.

But all of that money and influence is based on a deeply unsustainable foundation: These platforms all put algorithms between creators and their audiences while paying them essentially nothing, creating an endless race to go viral in service of sponsorships and brand deals. There are not many industries where it’s more valuable to stop selling bits and start selling atoms, but every major creator eventually pivots to selling products because it’s more lucrative than chasing views and brand deals. The Jake and Logan Paul brothers sell literal bottled water now, and earlier this year financial documents revealed that the YouTube arm of the MrBeast empire has spent three straight years in the red, including a whopping negative $110 million in 2024. All of those viral videos are just a marketing front for the real MrBeast business: a line of chocolate bars, available at your local Walmart.

This is the media ecosystem we live in now — a supercharged shopping system that thrives on outrage, dominates the culture, and resists any real scrutiny because no one’s really in charge, and another generation of creators is always there to exploit. It’s not just coming. It’s already here.

• Knock it off! — Getting copied is devastating — but not necessarily illegal. Who owns what in an era of unprecedented mass consumption?
• Hot Subpoena Summer — The convoluted saga of Justin Baldoni, Blake Lively, and It Ends With Us is still raging on social media, thanks to influencers.
• News Daddy ❤️ New York Times 🤡 — College students are choosing TikTok and Instagram over newspapers and magazines. And though they know social media is rife with misinformation, they still won’t give it up.
• Stop, Shop and Scroll — Behind every influencer is an army of the influenced, many adrift in debt and mass-produced clutter. The platforms need influencers and influencers need audiences — but what the influenced need is not so simple.