If you’re chronically online, you’ve seen it time and time again. The story goes like this: A creator begins making content about the state of the world right now. Specifically: corporate greed, corruption, the wrongdoings of the elite. Six months later, they’ve signed a 6-figure partnership contract with one of your least fave tech giants. Anddd, understandably, their audience goes off. At first, you think, “How could they do this to us?” It’s the ultimate betrayal. That is, until you realise that this was literally inevitable.

- Charlotte Ellis, Editor ♡

(btw - If you’re already using Claude Code or Cowork daily, scroll on by bc this isn’t for you)

But if you’ve just dabbled in using AI, maybe you’re using ChatGPT to help you look up recipes, write basic emails, or attempt to diagnose that insect bite you just got, stay with me for a sec.

When it comes to AI, there’s a lot of “bro you’re so behind” messaging out there. When, in reality, within just a couple hours, you can learn how to use AI better than 95% of people you know. And this why we put together the Beginner’s Guide to Claude AI course.

It’s a 4-week cohort where you learn how to go from using AI as a glorified Google to getting it to actually help you with the sh*tty admin (life or work) you hate doing every day.

We kick off our second cohort on 22 June, so if you want to go from feeling behind to using AI to make your life better, this is for you 👇

These ones however, cost a freaking fortune. By now I’m sure y’all have gathered my stance on any tech that can record someone without their consent. In my head, it’s just a nightmare for worst possible use cases. The design of these ones, as Victoria Song from The Verge described, are reminiscent of Edna Mode.

Which is lowkey a flex, in my humble opinion. I genuinely would wear these without the tech. And Snap is definitely positioning them as aspirational, high-fashion, and not your average smart-glasses. Could almost, ALMOST convince me to get a pair. If they didn’t cost two-thousand-freaking-dollars. In this economy, pass me the Temu dupes and let me see God.

And if you’re wondering what exactly is going to fill that new visual real estate these smart glasses bring (not the Temu ones) I have a sneaking suspicion it’s going to be a lot of corporate buzzwords. A new report from Marketing Brew reveals that advertisers have already dumped a staggering $1.3 billion into digital ads touting "AI" features this year alone.

Investment in AI-related terms for health and wellness ads alone has spiked by 165% year-over-year. Literally every brand on Earth is slapping "AI-powered" onto their products to hop on the bandwagon. So prepare to see your toothpaste and workout apps brag about their machine learning algorithms.

I’m sorry to tell you that if all of this makes the real world too exhausting, don't look to video games for an escape. Because even the digital playgrounds are a warzone. 404 Media reports that hackers have graduated from merely stealing individual players' items on Roblox; they are now hijacking entire video games and digital worlds. Cybercriminals are tricking independent developers, often teenagers, with fake job offers to get them to run malware.

Once inside, they completely strip the creators of their game ownership and digital currency, wiping out years of hard work and primary income streams overnight. Even the blocky kids' games aren't safe from the hustle.

-Sophie Randell, Writer

So you’re stuck with me for the next 900 words while I trauma dump on you. Because tell me why one of my favourite anti-establishment creators just took THE most corporate of corporate checks?

Now, I’m not going to name names. But a certain someone who built a massive, fiercely loyal audience by exposing institutional corruption, corporate greed, and the dark underbelly of the elite, while also smacking the sh*t out of golf balls (and being very talented at such) just dropped a paid advertisement for a Meta AI.

The words "sellout," "grifter," and "hypocrite" are being hurled around in the thousands. The audience feels deeply betrayed. We thought this creator was different. We thought she was one of us.

But as the dust settles on yet another internet scandal, we have to look past the immediate drama and ask the much more uncomfortable question: Is the creator in the wrong for taking the money? Or are we the idiots for expecting a person with a smartphone and an audience to be our moral compass?

This is my breakdown of what I’d like to call Ideological Catfishing, and why the creator economy is hitting a crisis of authenticity it might not survive.

The modern algorithm now rewards high-stakes edge.

Rebellion sells. We know this. Anti-establishment rhetoric is one of the highest-performing niches on social media because anger, scepticism, and institutional distrust drive unparalleled engagement. I mean, why wouldn’t it? Just look at the state of the world.

But we (I) have confused a content strategy with a personal code of ethics.

When an anti-corruption creator signs a contract with a trillion-dollar tech conglomerate like Meta, the mask gets completely obliterated. They spent years telling you how the system is designed to manipulate and survielle you, only to hand you the tool the system built to do it.

The truth is that, for a lot of creators, anti-establishment politics isn't a worldview. It is a niche. An aesthetic. It is just another way to aggregate eyeballs until the check from the highest bidder gets large enough to justify the hypocrisy.

When you buy a product recommended by a beauty influencer, you know the vibe. They like the blush, they get paid, you buy the blush. It’s transactional. But when you follow a creator who speaks on truth, ethics, and corruption, the currency isn't product affinity… the currency is shared trauma and shared values.

When a "truth-teller" sells out to the machine they claim to fight, they are retroactively invalidating the trust that built their platform. They're telling their audience that all that passion, all those deep dives, and all that "fighting the good fight" had a literal price tag.

Unfortunately, the system works exactly as intended. Social media platforms are not grassroots activist hubs. They are commercial ad networks. Expecting a creator to turn down life-changing corporate money to preserve the integrity of your feed is like going to a casino and being shocked that the house wants your money.

If you’re like me, a marketer, watching this disaster unfold, it’s important to see the massive strategic lessons here about influencer alignment:

But it’s also a necessary one.

It reminds us that the people on our screens are not our leaders, our friends, or our saviours. They are small businesses operating in a hyper-extractive economy. They have bills to pay, algorithms to appease, and exit strategies to plan.

By all means, enjoy the deep dives, laugh at the commentary, and watch the golf swings. But the moment a screen-bound creator tries to pretend they are the voice of a revolution, check their bio for the disclosure tag. Because in the creator economy, the revolution will not be televised. It will be sponsored by a tech giant, and it will come with an affiliate link.

-Sophie Randell, Writer

Their food order. Their situationship. Their chronically online friend who gets every reference without explanation. No logic. Just linked.

The sound comes from Gypsy Rose Blanchard, one of hundreds of old videos of hers that keeps resurfacing on TikTok. In the clip, a younger Gypsy Rose looks directly into the camera and says "I feel like I'm linked to you mind, body and soul" like she means every single word. The internet heard it, felt it in their chest, and immediately started pointing it at everything they have an irrational, unexplainable connection to.

People are using it for anything they're spiritually, inexplicably attached to:

Lipsync the audio and put whatever you're inexplicably linked to on screen.

A few ideas to get you started:

-abdel khalil, brand & marketing exec

😂Yap’s funniest home videos - "the feeling of the teacher holding up your paper as an example"
❤How wholesome - Father & Son munch
😊Soooo satisfying - Marble music
🍝What you should make for dinner tonight - Crispy Bang Bang Chicken

Hey Aroha!

First of all, I'd encourage you to spend some time on social media, paying attention to what stops your scroll. Analyse the hooks that grab you , then think about how you can use those as inspiration for your own content.

Second, think about how relatable your content is. I know you're targeting a specific audience. But if you want to grow your following, your content can't be too niche. So if you find your content isn't accessible to the average person, ask yourself how you can speak to a broader audience.

Lastly, you need to make more content. Posting more often will not only make you more visible on the platform. It will also give you more data, which will help you improve your content faster.

- Charlotte Ellis, Editor ♡

We get it. Creating content that does numbers is harder than it looks. But doing those big numbers is the fastest way to grow your brand. So if you’re tired of throwing sh*t at the wall and seeing what sticks, you’re in luck. Because making our clients go viral is kinda what we do every single day.