Good morning. Yesterday, a wildfire broke out near Los Angeles amid 80+ MPH winds, destroying over 3,000 acres of land and forcing at least 30K residents to evacuate their homes. Our thoughts are with our LA community and their families affected by the fire.

If you’d like to support relief efforts, you can check out the California Community Foundation’s Wildfire Recovery Fund.

— Hannah Doyle 

Creators On: iJustine’s YouTube Legacy

Justine Ezarik, known as iJustine, has published through many different eras—she livestreamed her life 24/7 back in 2006. She explored genres including cooking, gaming, and song parodies.

But tech is the niche that stuck. Ezarik went viral in a 2007 video unpacking a 300-page AT&T iPhone bill, kicking off a tech channel that would grow to feature interviews with Apple CEO Tim Cook and blue chip sponsorships with brands like Microsoft and BMW.    

This week, Ezarik celebrated over 18 years of consistently uploading to YouTube, where she’s amassed over 1.4 billion views and 7 million subscribers.

We asked creators about iJustine’s impact on a new era of tech. Here’s what they had to say →

“Justine is one of the hardest working people on the internet, and her longevity and ever-growing relevance is proof of that,” thumbnail designer David Altizer told us. “She was nice enough to join me on a collab video before we really knew each other.”

“[I’m inspired by] her willingness to step out of her comfort zone and learn about all the ways technology can be interacted with, especially for people with disabilities,” accessibility creator James Rath told us. “Her curiosity and promotion of accessibility is genuine and I believe it’s a quality that more creators should embrace for themselves.”

“Creators can get in their heads and spend 12 hours tweaking the text in a video or something so small that doesn't really move the needle…her prioritization is really sharp and she’s really great at branded content,” tech creator Sara Dietschy told us.

“It doesn’t matter what her views are doing, it doesn’t matter what YouTube is doing—she just does her,” Dietschy said. “If she wants to make cooking videos, she makes cooking videos. If she wants to make travel vlogs, she makes travel vlogs, and I think that’s why she’s been around so long.”

Creators On is a new format for The Publish Press. Got another impactful, genre-defining creator story you’re curious to hear other creators explain? Hit reply and tell us more.

Should Creators Take Action Against Copycats?

Should creators take action against copycats and stolen content? A handful of complex cases are causing some creators to think twice this week →

• Marques “MKBHD” Brownlee took to X on Monday to poll creators on whether he should ask to remove an account using his own content for Shorts. Most replies suggested that it depends on 1) how many views the stolen content gets and 2) if it’s monetized. Others see it as free promo: “I’ve even thought about paying fans who do it,” gaming creator Keekcraft said.

• A first-of-its-kind lawsuit is playing out between two lifestyle creators, Sydney Nicole Gifford and Alyssa Sheil. Gifford alleges that Sheil replicated her “sad beige aesthetic” and cut into Gifford’s earnings in doing so. If Gifford is successful, this could introduce new copyright norms for creators making content in specific aesthetics and genres. 

• Last year, lifestyle creator Kylen Chen-Troester accused skincare brand Soft Services of using an image of her without consent in an ad. It was then taken down, but according to Daily Dot, she has yet to receive compensation.

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Brands Target Young Creators

One in three US teens under 18 have been approached by a brand for a sponsorship or know someone who has, according to a recent report by social commerce Whop. 42% of US teens are actively earning money online through their social profiles. 

But how much are they earning, exactly?

• $718 per year, on average

• 0.16% generate an income of $10,000 or more per year through clothing resale, product reviews, and brand sponsorships

Hit reply and tell us: Is that more or less than what you were expecting?

🔥 Press Worthy

• Meta is getting rid of fact-checking in favor of X-style community notes.

• Creator link-in-bio tool Stan is covering one creator’s living expenses for a year.

• Alex Cooper's Unwell Network acquires true crime podcast Going West and lifestyle podcast Cheers!

• Auto channel BigTime teases an upcoming collaboration with Ludwig.

• Complexly launches a creator talk show, Ask Hank Anything.

• Keyboard mod YouTube videos tallied over 1 billion views last year.

• David Dobrik returns to YouTube.