Note: This week’s Verified was written by Washington Post Creator intern Shruti Singh.
Who’s on Rolling Stone and LTK’s top creator lists
How “The Odyssey” reignited the film critic vs. creator debate
Zainab Jiwa breaks down the red carpet hierarchy
Photo by Jay L. Clendenin/For The Washington Post
Summer movie season is over. The debate over creators in Hollywood isn’t.
This summer, thanks to creators, Hollywood is on track for its first $10 billion year since before the pandemic.
Creators-turned-filmmakers Kane Parsons and Curry Barker contributed nearly a tenth of that number, with “Backrooms” making $395 million and “Obsession” making $501 million, respectively. Additionally, creator-led marketing campaigns helped films like “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” “Toy Story 5,” and “Michael” achieve higher box office success.
The fact is: creators aren’t just being paid to promote movies anymore. They’re becoming a bigger part of how films are created, marketed and discovered.
Both the data and the deals appear to prove it. Disney and TikTok recently announced a partnership that will bring select TikTok videos to Disney+, give creators access to assets from hundreds of Disney movies and television shows, and establish a new creator ambassador program. TikTok said in 2024 that its Spotlight feature had led 47% of users to discover a new film coming to theaters and 36% of them purchased a ticket, according to the company’s own research.
According to a UTA IQ poll, around 75% of Gen Z and millennial moviegoers said they watched a film after seeing “memes about it” online. Creators are becoming a part of the movie machine: working alongside critics, reporters and advertisers to garner attention, reach specific audiences and keep conversations about a film going long after its opening weekend. …
The Takeover: How creators flexed their power this week.
The 25 Most Influential Creators of 2026 (Rolling Stone)
Hank Green says he wants to “put families back in control” with new kids’ STEAM content app ClockwiseTV (TubeFilter)
Ina Garten is a YouTuber now (Hollywood Reporter)
Influencers have a lot to say about politics. Many are quietly paid for it. (New York Times)
Pentagon secretly installs military influencers in civilian roles (Washington Post)
Creator Q+A: Zainab Jiwa
Courtesy of Zainab Jiwa
Zainab Jiwa (@zeewhatidid) is a UK-based creator, presenter, and interviewer. After starting as a fan attending premieres, her film and fashion breakdowns during the pandemic built a dedicated community and caught the attention of major studios, like Disney.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
Shruti Singh: A common criticism is that studios prefer creators because they expect positive reviews rather than real critique. How do you handle maintaining audience trust versus brand relationships?
Zainab Jiwa: Trust with our audience is the absolute most important thing as a creator — it's number one. I dish out a one-star when I need to dish out a one-star! I'm not going to promote something if I'm not personally a fan. While the anxiety of managing brand relationships is always there, we have to remember why we are here in the first place.
The Platforms:
Meta will pay up to $17.1 billion in a social media addiction settlement
Instagram announces that the “AI creator” label will now be changed to say “AI-generated profile”
LTK adds an AI agent to help brands build creator campaigns
LTK names the creators and brands shaping culture in 2026
YouTube creators will now be able to tag Amazon products in their videos
TikTok’s Song of The Summer is a Katy Perry track from 2011
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