Good morning. The Bobbi Althoff PR machine must be working overtime. Barstool blogger Jack Mac claims that Althoff and Drake unfollowing each other and deleting their interview on her podcast from social media is a PR stunt, but celebrity gossip creator Deux Moi claims it’s not. Whether there’s beef between the two doesn’t really matter. The point is: we’re talking about it. And that’s a win for Althoff and her team.

— Hannah Doyle & Nate Graber-Lipperman

Errors and Allegations: Linus Media Group Halts Production

Linus Sebastian’s “Linus Tech Tips” (LTT) YouTube channel announced on Wednesday that it will not be uploading any videos for at least a week—the first such halt in production in over a decade.

The pause comes amidst a slew of controversies, including accusations from other creators of publishing content with factual errors and allegations from a former employee who says she experienced sexual harassment and mistreatment at the company.

Context: Sebastian has become one of the most recognizable tech creators on YouTube since he first started uploading in 2008. His company, Linus Media Group, has over 26 million combined subscribers across nine channels and employs over 100 people.

So what happened? Two separate storms are swirling…

• On Monday, computer review channel Gamers Nexus released a nearly 45-minute video sharing examples of factual errors as well as potential bias due to “corporate connections" in some of LTT’s reviews.

• Two days later, ex-employee Madison Reeve posted a thread on X alleging she was “grabbed multiple times in the office” and told her output in the fast-paced work environment was “dogsh*t,” experiences which both took a toll on her mental health.

Big picture: Sebastian stepped down as CEO of Linus Media Group in May to focus less on management and more on making content. “Most successful companies eventually outgrow the leadership of their founders,” he said at the time.

Both Sebastian and new Linus Media CEO Terren Tong (a former corporate tech executive) told The Verge that they’re pausing uploads on the channel to reevaluate their content production processes and hire an “outside investigator” to look into their company culture.

Taxi Drivers Find Fame—and Higher Pay—on TikTok

Southeast Asian motorcycle taxi drivers like Mpo Bhabay and Rika Goldie are making more money posting to TikTok than they are giving rides, according to the global nonprofit publication Rest of World.

Context: The subgenre of motorcycle taxi drivers vlogging their daily lives—from doing acts of service to comedy reactions—has become increasingly popular among Southeast Asian TikTok users.

For every branded post, Bhabay says she makes up to three million rupiah (or about $200), which is more than a half a month’s minimum wage in her home city of Jakarta, Indonesia. Bhabay posts about four brand deals per month, which quadruples her earnings from the ride-hailing company Gojek.

Zoom out: Many creators’ day jobs are what propel their early growth—consider chef-turned-TikTok creator Chef Reactions or former tech employee Corporate Natalie. For taxi drivers, whose payouts from platforms like Uber and Lyft are falling across the board, social platforms provide an accessible way to generate new income.

Unpacking the Viral Eurodance Parody Taking Over the Internet

Comedian Kyle Gordon went viral in July when he released a teaser for his unforgettable Eurodance parody “Planet of the Bass,” netting over 100 million views on Twitter and nearly 1 million likes on TikTok.

This week, Gordon released the full music video, which has trended in YouTube’s Top 10 for music and become an instant classic among fans.

For one YouTube commenter, a callback to the original viral teaser proved that “it IS possible to be nostalgic for two weeks ago.”

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📚️ Thank You For Pressing Publish

The content we’re looking forward to reading, watching, and listening to this weekend.

• Read: In the early aughts, how did MySpace change social media (and by extension, the music industry) forever? Author Michael Tedder shares an excerpt from his new book on the tech company’s tumultuous journey.

• Watch: Digital culture commentator Jules Terpak explains her belief that it’s on both viewers and platforms to hold creators accountable when it comes to posting people in content without their consent.

• Listen: Brothers Eric and Jeff Rosenthal give an oral history on the rise of music blogs in 2010s hip-hop in The Blog Era.

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