Cue 20,000 people lining up outside, with no food and water, for hours. Tana makes the call to cancel TanaCon, admitting she was “an idiot” for thinking only a quarter of that number would show up (and thus planning for just 5,000 attendees). Now, the year is 2026. And despite the epic fail that was TanaCon, she’s not only shaken off her reputation for being… shall we say… unpredictable. But she’s getting more attention from mainstream brands than ever before. So, how did Tana manage such a comeback? [Read more]

- 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 on 18 May, so if you want to go from feeling behind to using AI to make your life better, this is for you 👇

According to Vox, people are increasingly outsourcing the basic functions of friendship, like asking advice, self-disclosing their mental health issues, and seeking empathy and support, to AI. I mean, if I were looking for someone to enable my behaviour, ChatGPT would be a great option lol. Hence the rise in chatbot “friends.”

In February, creator Brittany Panzer posted a 5-minute-long story time on TikTok that detailed the unravelling of her friendship – an unravelling caused by ChatGPT. Brittany explained that her friends had begun choosing the counsel of the chatbot over the people in her life, which eventuated in the end of their friendship. She says it got to the point where she hardly recognised the person on the other end of the phone. Spooky stuff.

People idealise these chatbots, but this does not mean you are a bad friend at all. Some people become addicted to the convenience of these things, along with the fact that it’s likely going to tell you exactly what you want to hear, whereas a real friend who cares about them may give them some hard truths. It’s shame, but unfortunately, they’re designed to keep people coming back.

Next! TMZ is going political. The notorious gossip website has only been in Washington DC for a few weeks. But according to The Guardian, it’s having an impact. Apparently, that includes “hounding politicians [and] tracking vacationing members of Congress and reporting on a senator taking a trip to Disney World.”

TMZ also allegedly cornered Robert F Kennedy Jr after it emerged he once cut the pen*s off a road-killed raccoon. TMZ asked Kennedy what he had done with the raccoon pen*s and while the secretary had no comment, the footage was fkn great. Maybe this is what political reporting needs? Something rogue and ballsy to shake things up and get some answers.

And last but not least: the new Silicon Valley is upon us. But is the promise of jobs worth all the fkn water it’s taking to manufacture chips in the Arizona desert?

How much water, you say? Well, as of early 2026, TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited)’s first, completed manufacturing plant consumes (Fab 21 Phase 1) in North Phoenix consumes approximately 4.75 million gallons of water per day. Oh, and that number is expected to rise, SIGNIFICANTLY. Estimates are projecting a total daily need of up to 17.2 million gallons of water when all phases are fully operational. Time to fill your bunker, y’all. 

-Sophie Randell, Writer

I once heard her say “It’s hard being a Ke$ha in a Hailey Bieber world.”

Following the 2018 TanaCon collapse, an event so synonymous with logistical failure it became a multi-part documentary series, Mongeau was basically deemed "un-brandable,” as if she was the ultimate liability. Fast forward to 2026, and The Hollywood Reporter is unironically calling her brand safe and predicting her most lucrative era yet.

For creators and business owners sitting on a messy digital footprint, Tana is your blueprint.

In the legacy world, brand safe meant sanitised, kind of like Disney clean. Today, brand safety is less about being a saint and more about being predictable.

Brands aren't necessarily afraid of a creator who swears or discusses adult themes; actually, you’ll find more are leaning into those now. They are, however, afraid of volatility. They fear the unvetted moment that results in a stock-price-dropping PR crisis (i.e. Taylor Frankie Paul and the recent Bachelorette situation).

Tana’s transition to brand safety didn’t require her to stop being Tana. But it did build a professional infrastructure (like her Cancelled podcast) that proved she could show up, deliver an ad read, and maintain a loyal, measurable audience without burning the fkn house down.

Because we are NOT about losing ourselves in exchange for anything. But, if you are struggling with a personal brand reputation that feels too risky for high-level partnerships, the path back to the latest trending list involves three tactical moves:

1. The radical transparency audit

You cannot delete the internet. The YAP approach to marketing has always been about knowing the narrative before everyone else does. So, own your archive; if there’s a mess in your past, contextualise it. Show the growth. Brands today actually value reformed characters because their audience trust feels earned, not manufactured.

2. Professionalise the buffer

If you are a wild card personality, you need a boring backend. This means hiring a manager, a PR-minded editor, or a legal consultant to vet your output. Brand safety is often just the confidence that a second pair of eyes has seen the content before it hits the feed.

3. The portfolio of reliability

I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news but, babes, you don’t go from cancelled to a Fortune 500 deal overnight. You start with braver brands, startups or edgy disruptors, to prove you can drive ROI without incident. This builds a track record of reliability that eventually makes the big guys feel safe enough to sign the check.

Tana isn’t the only one who turned a liability into a legacy. To round off your strategy, look at these three cases:

Your reputation isn't a fixed asset; it's a moving average. Being brand safe is about proving that you’re a professional who understands that while the content can be wild, the business must be airtight.

You don’t have to be perfect, but you do have to understand that.

-Sophie Randell, Writer

Today’s viral sound comes from a clip of Bob's Burgers, the American animated sitcom that first aired in 2011. It centres on Jimmy Jr., an eighth-grader at Wagstaff School, who’s known for being a bit in his own world. In the clip, he’s dancing in a funny, slightly chaotic way to "Dracula" by Tame Impala featuring JENNIE.

Creators are using a green screen template of Jimmy Jr. dancing to add their own images and pairing it with captions that capture those spiralling or distracted moments. For example, when the ADHD kicks in 3 hours into the 20 min job, or when I express my trauma to my therapist, and he says break it down for me.

Using this CapCut template, in editing insert an image of where your scenario is set. Add on-screen text describing your relatable moment, ideally beginning with "when", but honestly get creative and goofy with it!

A few ideas to get you started:

-Fiona Badiana, Intern

😂Yap’s funniest home videos: Cat said shut up
✨Daily inspo: You're stressed about doing too little... 
🎧Soooo tingly: This video will lower your cortisol
🍝What you should make for dinner tonight: Hot Honey Chilli Cheese Beef Loaded Fries

Hey Catherine!

Don't worry—speaking on camera isn't a requirement for virality. Think about it for a second. There are so many successful videos that don't feature anyone speaking at all (I mean, cat videos? haha). What is a non-negotiable is good storytelling. All viral videos will have a story structure of setup, conflict, resolution. And they will have some kind of emotional resonance that makes people connect with them.

So if you’re camera-shy, that’s okay. Just don’t let it become the excuse that holds you back from creating content. Instead of thinking about whether you should talk on camera, you should think about what the human truth is you're trying to convey. Because there are many ways to tell a compelling story. Talking is just one of them.

- 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.