But you have to do it from the inside… kind of like in The Matrix, except we’ll never be as hot or badass as Trinity. Instead of mindlessly shouting into the void, some creators, like @whatzaraloves, have started shouting back, and she’s doing it from the back of the bus. There’s a new wave of meta-media taking over our timelines, and they’re using the master’s tools to tear down the master’s house.

-Sophie Randell, Writer

No, not the animal - and they’re not a psyop either. Geese, the indie rock group, has been hit with accusations that they're an industry plant, a marketing construct designed to look grassroots while being backed by major label money and strategic PR. Fans are dissecting their trajectory, pointing to things like suspiciously polished early recordings, well-connected managers, and media coverage that seems too coordinated to be organic.

But guys, ya’ll forget - in 2026, every successful artist looks like an industry plant because the infrastructure required to break through is so expensive and professionalised that genuine grassroots success is almost impossible.

You need publicists, playlist connections, social media strategy and funding to compete, which means even artists who started in basements end up looking manufactured by the time they hit. The discourse around Geese isn't really about whether they're authentic, it's about our collective paranoia that nothing online is real anymore… which is lowkey kind of justified. Geese just happened to be the scapegoat this time.

Anyway moving on, Kellogg's is putting toys back in cereal boxes, maybe the earth is healing? The toys are tied to Toy Story, because of course they are, and they're being marketed as a return to simpler times when breakfast came with a fun little surprise instead of a QR code.

Obviously a genius move from a brand perspective because millennials (hello) who grew up with cereal box toys are now parents, and they're primed to feel warm and fuzzy about giving their kids the same experience. Or… they’re not parents… they’re just going to be eating a lot of cornflakes suddenly… for no particular reason…

Speaking of kids, social media usage is now impacting their reading skills, which seems kind of obvious, but it’s now backed by actual research. The study shows that kids who spend more time on social media have weaker reading comprehension, shorter attention spans, and less ability to engage with long-form text.

So, it's not just that they're reading less, it's that the way they're reading is changing. Social media trains you to scan, skim, and move on, which is the opposite of what deep reading (and thinking) requires.

These kids are fine at processing short bursts of information, but ask them to sit with a book or a complex article and they genuinely struggle.

Chat... are we cooked?

-Sophie Randell, Writer

While the algorithm continues its relentless pursuit of "mindless" engagement, a new wave of creators is using those very mechanics to stage somewhat of a coup.

Creators like my personal fave @whatzaraloves have mastered a specific kind of digital alchemy. They take the "low-brow" aesthetics of social media, the shaky, lo-fi "talking head" video recorded on a noisy commute, and use it as a Trojan Horse to deliver high-level cultural theory and critique.

It is meta-media at its finest: using the digital spectacle itself to explain exactly why the performance is broken.

The talking head hack

The algorithm, just like myself, is a creature of habit. It has been trained to reward "relatable", face-to-camera content because it mimics the intimacy of a FaceTime call. Usually, this format is reserved for "get ready with me" routines or random life updates.

But these creators are hacking that intimacy, and it’s genius. Because, we know now, that if you look like you’re just crashing out about a bad day, the algorithm will push you into the feeds of millions. And it’s only once the viewer is 2 minutes deep that they realise they aren't even watching a vent session, but attending a lecture on late-stage capitalism, the commodification of the female gaze, or the sociological rot of micro-trends.

The meta medium irony

There is something soooo deeply satisfying about watching a critique of digital culture on the platform being critiqued. It just scratches an itch in my brain that feels almost ancient.

By delivering sociology through the medium of a "commuter vlog", these creators are reaching people who would likely never step foot in a lecture about postmodern feminism in the digital age or pick up a theory book on anything like it.

They're democratising critique by disguising it as content. Not influencing, but interfering.

From aspiration to articulation

For a long time, the social media woman has been expected to provide aspiration, the "What I Eat In A Day" lies and the polished aesthetic I’ve written about before. This new wave replaces aspiration with articulation.

The "goals!" in the comment section of a @whatzaraloves video isn't about her waistline or her outfit; it’s about her clout of mind. I’m not following because I care about what she buys (even though she does look cute always); I’m there to learn how to see through what I’m being sold. It is a shift from being a "consumer of the spectacle" to being an "analyst of the spectacle."

Dismantling the spectacle from the inside

We often talk about social media as a "passive" experience, a digital "bread and circuses" designed to keep us numb. But these creators are proof that the circus can be hijacked.

The algorithm doesn't have to be a one-way street of brain-rot, you can use the engine of the machine to throw a wrench in the gears.

-Sophie Randell, Writer

The ones giggling to themselves while the world remains completely unaware (don't look at me like that, you do it too). The sound is exactly what it says on the tin; Natalie Nunn, the gift that keeps on giving, reality TV icon and the woman behind the entire Baddies franchise, absolutely losing it at her own joke with zero remorse.

The clip is over a year old but the internet just caught up, because good chaos has no expiry date. People are using it to laugh about something mischievous they did or are about to do that only they find frankly hilarious.

My favourites so far:

How you can jump on this trend:

Using the sound, film yourself laughing with full villain energy and put the thing you're laughing about as on-screen text. That's genuinely it.

A few ideas to get you started:

-abdel khalil, brand & marketing exec

😲WTF: That was unexpected 
✨Daily inspo: Now this is wedding Inspo
😊Soooo satisfying: I want to eat them
🍝What you should make for dinner tonight: Taco's minus the Taco

Hey Robbie!

What it boils down to is this: the IG algo is driven by user behaviour. That's why it's funny when people say they hate the algorithm—as if someone else has trained it! When people like, comment, and share content, the algorithm learns what type of content those users enjoy and begins pushing similar content to similar audiences.

So when it comes to creating content, the platform doesn't care how much effort you put into a piece of content. It only cares about whether it earns people's attention. And whether it will do that comes down to 3 things: relatability, story structure, and whether it has a human truth. So instead of worrying about the algorithm, put your focus into getting those elements right in your content.

- 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.