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Nicole Rafiee has been around the block on YouTube. The 25 year-old creator made her first channel in middle school, and after deleting her channel a few times (she wasn't thrilled when her high school's football team found it), she started seriously posting to YouTube her sophomore year of college.

These days, she'd have a lot more difficulty if she felt like deleting her channel when someone in her real life found it. She's garnered an audience of 1.07 million subscribers on YouTube, thanks in part to her "Chronically Online Girl explains" series, which covers everything from Ariana Grande to the Frenemies lore.

Credit: Mashable Composite: Zooey Liao/ Image Credit: Getty Images/ Amazon/ Canon/ Nicole Rafiee's Instagram

We caught up with her at VidCon 2025 to get the scoop on what she uses these days to streamline her content creation process — and to learn how exactly she manages to record her and Jake Thatcher's Talk Nasty to Me podcast in her bathtub.

SEE ALSO: VidCon 2025: The latest updates from your favorite creators A portable SSD Opens in a new window Credit: SanDisk SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD $99.99 at Amazon
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When Rafiee first started out with videos, she ran into some tech issues right off the bat.

"I was like, why is my computer running at like the speed of nothing? And why is my computer as hot as an oven right now? Like, I could actually make a pancake on it because it's so hot and I have, like, third degree burns on my lap because of this."

The solution? A solid state drive (SSD) to store her many hours of footage. She says she's collected six over the years — at about $99 a piece, it's definitely cheaper than buying an entirely new laptop (and lets you avoid some tech waste).

" Everybody should get an SSD if they want to (create content) — not everything needs to live off of your computer or phone," she said. "I say that as I have literally 85,000 photos on my phone. I should take my own advice."

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Rafiee isn't exactly a fan of all products catered toward creators: "Sometimes when brands are like, 'this product is made for creators,' it's like, okay, this sucks," she said. "And it just comes in, like, pink or something and they're like, 'This is it!' and I'm like, 'alright I don't need all that.'"

The Sony ZV-1 doesn't fall into that category, thankfully. Rafiee told us it's the camera she's used the longest, mostly because it's so user-friendly and versatile: she uses it for everything from filming her podcast to vlogging in her car.

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" I do care a lot about lighting in my videos because I feel like I have to set a vibe. I don't like a harsh lighting; I want it to look like I'm literally in my house," Rafiee said.

This key light from GVM helps her do just that. She likes it because it's easy to adjust the warmth, it's portable, and it can mimic the light of the sun to set the perfect ambience.

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Rafiee has been using the Bose QuietComfort 45 headphones for years. " They are my true ride or die. I just replaced the padding in them because they were just deteriorating so bad from my own sweat," she told us.

Unfortunately, Bose phased out that exact model, but the nearly identical Bose QuietComfort headphones are still available for purchase.

SEE ALSO: The best noise-cancelling headphones we use and love Acoustic foam for soundproofing Opens in a new window Credit: Audiosoul Audiosoul 52-pack acoustic panels $34.95 at Amazon
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Rafiee didn't say exactly which acoustic foam she uses, but she did cite it as a crucial part of her podcast setup. It makes sense, considering she and her co-host Jake Thatcher sit in an empty tub to record it.

It'd be a challenge for even the most seasoned audio engineer, and Rafiee doesn't expect the episodes to sound like they're in a studio: "It'll never get there because at the end of the day we are in a ceramic room. But [the foam] does make it a lot better." Placed just out of camera line, the foam works alongside some pillows in the tub and rugs on the floor.

Honorable mention: A wellness routine

Rafiee's last essential is a strict wellness routine. "I need to be (in) 10 out of 10 health in order to make a video," she said. She came to the realization after she found herself throwing up and dealing with migraines consistently while filming her "Chronically Online" series, after hours of standing under the lights and not getting enough sleep.

While not a physical product, it's a good reminder that getting plenty of rest and taking care of yourself are just as important as any recording equipment or editing software.

Mashable was live at Anaheim Convention Center covering VidCon 2025. Check back at Mashable.com, where we’ll be talking to your favorite creators, covering the latest trends, and sharing how creators are growing their followings, their influence, and making a living online.

Connections is the one of the most popular New York Times word games that's captured the public's attention. The game is all about finding the "common threads between words." And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier—so we've served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.

If you just want to be told today's puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for today's Connections solution. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable What is Connections?

The NYT's latest daily word game has become a social media hit. The Times credits associate puzzle editor Wyna Liu with helping to create the new word game and bringing it to the publications' Games section. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.

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Each puzzle features 16 words and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise of anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there's only one correct answer.

If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake—players get up to four mistakes until the game ends.

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Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.

SEE ALSO: NYT's The Mini crossword answers for June 22 Here's a hint for today's Connections categories

Want a hint about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:

• Yellow: Seen on CNN, CBS, etc.

• Green: Found in the American founding document

• Blue: Popular series

• Purple: Opposite of right

Featured Video For You Connections: How to play and how to win Here are today's Connections categories

Need a little extra help? Today's connections fall into the following categories:

• Yellow: News announcement

• Green: Nouns from a famous line in the Declaration of Independence

• Blue: HBO shows

• Purple: What "Left" might mean

Looking for Wordle today? Here's the answer to today's Wordle.

Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today's puzzle before we reveal the solutions.

Drumroll, please!

The solution to today's Connections #742 is...

What is the answer to Connections today

• News announcement: BULLETIN, FLASH, REPORT, WIRE

• Nouns from a famous line in the Declaration of Independence: HAPPINESS, LIBERTY, LIFE, PURSUIT

• HBO shows: ENTOURAGE, EUPHORIA, INSECURE, SUCCESSION

• What "Left" might mean: DEPARTED, PORT, PROGRESSIVE, REMAINING

Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be new Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we'll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for June 22

Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to the latest Connections.

If you're reading this, you're looking for a little help playing Strands, the New York Times' elevated word-search game.

Strands requires the player to perform a twist on the classic word search. Words can be made from linked letters — up, down, left, right, or diagonal, but words can also change direction, resulting in quirky shapes and patterns. Every single letter in the grid will be part of an answer. There's always a theme linking every solution, along with the "spangram," a special, word or phrase that sums up that day's theme, and spans the entire grid horizontally or vertically.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable

By providing an opaque hint and not providing the word list, Strands creates a brain-teasing game that takes a little longer to play than its other games, like Wordle and Connections.

If you're feeling stuck or just don't have 10 or more minutes to figure out today's puzzle, we've got all the NYT Strands hints for today's puzzle you need to progress at your preferrined pace.

SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Answer, hints for June 22 SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for June 22 NYT Strands hint for today’s theme: Fragrant abuse

The words are smell-related.

Today’s NYT Strands theme plainly explained

These words are ways to describe bad smells.

NYT Strands spangram hint: Is it vertical or horizontal?

Today's NYT Strands spangram is vertical.

NYT Strands spangram answer today

Today's spangram is That Stinks

Featured Video For You Strands 101: How to win NYT’s latest word game NYT Strands word list for June 22

• Foul

• Rank

• Malodorous

• That Stinks

• Reeking

• Pungent

• Smelly

Looking for other daily online games? Mashable's Games page has more hints, and if you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now!

Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to the latest Strands.

If you like playing daily word games like Wordle, then Hurdle is a great game to add to your routine.

There are five rounds to the game. The first round sees you trying to guess the word, with correct, misplaced, and incorrect letters shown in each guess. If you guess the correct answer, it'll take you to the next hurdle, providing the answer to the last hurdle as your first guess. This can give you several clues or none, depending on the words. For the final hurdle, every correct answer from previous hurdles is shown, with correct and misplaced letters clearly shown.

An important note is that the number of times a letter is highlighted from previous guesses does necessarily indicate the number of times that letter appears in the final hurdle.

If you find yourself stuck at any step of today's Hurdle, don't worry! We have you covered.

SEE ALSO: Hurdle: Everything you need to know to find the answers Hurdle Word 1 hint

Devotion.

SEE ALSO: Apple’s new M3 MacBook Air is $300 off at Amazon. And yes, I’m tempted. Hurdle Word 1 answer

PIETY

Hurdle Word 2 hint

To snatch.

SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Answer, hints for June 22, 2025 Hurdle Word 2 Answer

WREST

Hurdle Word 3 hint

A stone.

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for June 22 SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for June 22, 2025 Hurdle Word 3 answer

TOPAZ

Hurdle Word 4 hint

Intoxicated.

SEE ALSO: NYT Strands hints, answers for June 22 Hurdle Word 4 answer

DRUNK

Final Hurdle hint

To take.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Games available on Mashable Hurdle Word 5 answer

GLEAN

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

VidCon is many things: a networking hub, a fandom free-for-all, a content factory, and the internet’s annual IRL fever dream. Each day brings moments that make you laugh, cringe, take notes or immediately start filming a reaction on TikTok.

This year's VidCon is no exception. Whether it's an appearance from a top-tier creator, a panel quote that instantly enters stan lexicon, or a wholesome fan interaction caught on camera, VidCon 2025 promises to deliver. You can expect creators meeting longtime fans, influencers speaking candidly about life online and brand-building, and more than a few moments that will have the entire Anaheim Convention Center buzzing.

SEE ALSO: What to expect from VidCon 2025

From the convention floor to backstage with your fave creators, Mashable is rounding up what goes down here.

Here’s the tech creators are using at VidCon 2025 

VidCon is an annual gathering for video creators, especially YouTube creators, and this year Mashable joined the fray. Our digital culture and shopping reporters are on the ground at the Anaheim Convention Center to check out the top panels and events — and to talk to as many creators as possible.

So, what's trending among the trendsetters?

We kept our eyes peeled for gadgets, tech accessories, cameras, and cute carry-alls as we roamed the VidCon 2025 convention room floor. Keep an eye on our new In My Bag series for more influencer-approved product recommendations.

Here's a recap of some of the tech products we spotted at VidCon 2025, the simple gear Naomi Hearts uses
to create TikTok magic, and Mikey Angelo’s 3 essential tools for creating viral content. Also, here are the content creation tools creator Nicole Rafiee uses to create content for the chronically online.

VidCon hosts its first Hall of Fame awards with Rhett & Link, Tyler Oakley and more

VidCon 2025's opening ceremony honored trailblazing creators Hank Green, co-founder of VidCon and half of the Vlogbrothers channel; Rhett & Link, hosts of Good Mythical Morning and founders of Mythical Entertainment; Grace Helbig; Tyler Oakley; Joey Graceffa; Rosanna Pansino; and Smosh co-founders Anthony Padilla and Ian Hecox.

Mashable reporters were in the room as the Hall of Fame inductees took to the stage to offer thanks and insight to their longevity as creators.

Super keen VidCon attendees chant 'let us in'

Enthusiastic early bird attendees stood outside the Anaheim Convention Center doors on Thursday morning, channelling their eagerness into a simple chant: "Let us in."

Mashable senior culture reporter Christianna Silva captured the moment in a video:

'Hawk Tuah' girl Haliey Welch's live recording of 'Talk Tuah' podcast gets messy

Hailey Welch, better known as 'Hawk Tuah' girl, held a live recording of her podcast Talk Tuah with co-host Chelsea Bradford and guest Whitney Cummings on Thursday night. Unfortunately it quickly devolved, with around half the crowd leaving before the end.

The Aphmau of it all This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. More VidCon highlights from this week

Here's a look at more of what happened and tips creators shared at VidCon Thursday:

• Haliey Welch recorded a live Talk Tuah podcast. It got messy.

• Top creators share their success secrets

• Best moments from VidCon Thursday

• YouTube experts decode the algorithm for you

• How to increase retention on your videos

• Writing a video script for YouTube, TikTok, and more

• 6 ways to measure your metrics as a creator

• Tips to protecting your privacy as a creator

• All of Mashable's coverage so far

Mashable will be live at Anaheim Convention Center this week covering VidCon 2025. Check back in the days ahead at Mashable.com, where we’ll be talking to your favorite creators, covering the latest trends, and sharing how creators are growing their followings, their influence, and making a living online.

You might know Naomi Hearts from her hilarious comedy skits, her mouthwatering food videos, or her head-turning fashion content — but chances are, if you’ve spent any time on social media, you’ve definitely heard of her. With 1.1 million TikTok followers, 116K fans on Instagram, and nearly 5,000 subscribers on YouTube, Hearts has carved out a vibrant corner of the internet all her own, and her audience is nothing short of obsessed.

Now in her fourth year as a Featured Creator at VidCon, Hearts continues to bring her signature sparkle and energy to the convention floor. We caught up with her at Meta Night Out to get a peek behind the curtain and find out what gear she actually uses to keep the content flowing.

Naomi Hearts at Meta Night Out during VidCon 2025. Credit: Mashable A handheld fan Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon JISULIFE Handheld Mini Fan, 3 IN 1 USB Rechargeable Portable Fan $15.29
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Let’s face it: VidCon can get hot, in every sense of the word. Like many creators on site, Hearts swears by her trusty handheld fan. "That’s all you need," she says. It’s her secret weapon to stay cool and camera-ready through long days of panels, meet-and-greets, and filming on the go.

Videoleap app

When it comes to editing, Hearts doesn’t mess around. "I use an app called Videoleap," she shares. "I like it more than any other app, personally."

She uses it mainly to cut Instagram Reels and short-form content, but it’s powerful enough for long-form editing, too. For Hearts, it’s all about speed, simplicity, and keeping her edits sharp and scroll-stopping.

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No DSLR. No laptop. No problem.

Hearts shoots and edits everything on her iPhone 13. She says she "never" uses a traditional camera. She prefers the back camera for its higher quality, especially for intros and polished clips, but often switches to the front camera for spontaneous, face-to-face chats with her followers. It's a full-on mobile production studio in the palm of her hand.

Mashable will be live at the Anaheim Convention Center this week, covering VidCon 2025. Check back in the days ahead at Mashable.com, where we’ll be talking to your favorite creators, covering the latest trends, and sharing how creators are growing their followings, their influence, and making a living online.

You've probably heard of Mikey Angelo, the creator with over 7 million followers across YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. He's best known for crafting catchy songs that cleverly weave in his deep knowledge of pop culture and current events.

And if you've seen his videos, you’ve definitely noticed the bucket hat. He wears one in nearly every clip — and now has hundreds stacked in his closet.

At VidCon 2025's Meta Night Out, we caught up with Angelo to learn more about the tools he uses to create the content we can’t stop watching.

We chatted with Angelo at VidCon's Meta Night Out in 2025. Credit: Mashable Mini tripod Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon UBeesize Phone Tripod Pro S, Premium Flexible Phone Tripod with Wireless Remote $12.98
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Angelo uses a basic tripod he bought off Amazon, but it plays a key role in his workflow, especially when he's on a tight deadline.

"If I'm like 'Oh, no, I have a draft due today that I haven't filmed, and I'm not at my regular place, my [mini tripod] always comes in handy," he said.

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All of Angelo's videos are shot on his iPhone — no fancy camera setup here. And yes, he uses the front-facing camera. "I always use the selfie side," he added.

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This is where the magic happens. "I do all of my production in Logic," he said. "That's where I make all the beats and all the music, and I produce my vocals on it, too."

Then, he lip-syncs along with the tune when recording the video. For editing, he turns to the InShot app to pull everything together.

Mashable will be live at the Anaheim Convention Center this week, covering VidCon 2025. Check back in the days ahead at Mashable.com, where we’ll be talking to your favorite creators, covering the latest trends, and sharing how creators are growing their followings, their influence, and making a living online.

In the digital world, first impressions are everything. If you have a good enough hook in a video, you can increase your audience and draw viewers in right off the bat — but it's not as easy as it looks.

At VidCon 2025, Jason Gandy, a content creator and instructor at Quantum Courses, walked an audience through exactly how to hook viewers in the first three seconds with humor, pacing, and smart edits during the panel "Hook, Line, and LOL: Making the First Three Seconds Count."

Gandy says that a bad hook leads to low view retention, but there are four ways to set up a hook that can draw people in:

1. Bold statement

   Gandy recommends making a "specific and direct" bold statement that "challenges common beliefs, promises value or benefits," and, eventually, your video should back that up. "Open with something shocking or provocative," Gandy said.

2. Ask an intriguing question

   These questions should "spark curiosity and hook viewers into watching the rest of your video to find the answer." They should create an emotional pull for your viewer and hint at the payoff.

3. Humor

   Creators can also "open with a quick, relatable, or unexpected joke," but make sure you keep it short and snappy. You can use gestures and props to add more humor to these first three seconds, too.

4. Storytelling

   Gandy also recommends opening with a "brief narrative or story that captivates emotions, sparks curiosity or relates to your viewer's experiences." If you start with a story, keep in mind that you'll need to keep it short and relatable.

"In order to hook viewers with any of the methods we've discussed so far, you have to use pacing and fast cuts," Gandy said. This "creates an engaging experience" for viewers. Use audio cues like music and sound effects, visual cues like b roll and animations, and tight editing.

Gandy didn't touch on visual hooks, but plenty of users on TikTok have recommendations for exactly how to do that — like pulling your camera out of a drawer, opening it like a book, or grabbing your phone out of a fridge.

To find more examples of good visual hooks, think about the videos that have drawn you in quickly, and study how that creator accomplished that. You can also search "hooks" on TikTok.

Mashable will be live at the Anaheim Convention Center this week, covering VidCon 2025. Check back in the days ahead at Mashable.com, where we’ll be talking to your favorite creators, covering the latest trends, and sharing how creators are growing their followings, their influence, and making a living online.

At VidCon, creator Peet Montzingo was joined by Imani Barbarin, Briel Adams-Wheatley, and Pat Valentine of the Valentine Brothers at the panel, Accessibility for All: Creating Inclusive Spaces Online and IRL.

The panel came together to discuss their experience as creators advocating for disability rights. Pat Valentine makes videos with his brother Zach, who was born with Down syndrome, and represented the duo on the panel, while Imani Barbarin and Briel Wheatley-Adams were able to speak to their own experience.

SEE ALSO: Here are the highlights from VidCon 2025 this week so far

When asked how accessibility overlaps in their personal and professional lives, Barbarin said, "I personally view accessibility as imagination and practice. I think that disabled people are some of the most creative people on the planet, because we have to adapt every single day to our environment."

Valentine noted, "Being accessible as a community and as society is really just honoring voices, listening to disabled people, and including them in everyday life and everyday conversations."

While Wheatley said, "Everyone has a disability, if they want to admit it to themselves or not, whether that's physically, mentally, or emotionally, and we all deserve to be somewhere and everywhere.

The panel's conversation focused on navigating disability in the everyday world, and as Barbarin wisely put it, "the disability math" that is required every day to navigate the world. Much of the dialogue focused on the importance of visibility, noting how the disabled community was institutionalized during the Industrial Revolution, and the importance of listening to disabled voices rather than speaking for them.

As Barbarin put it, "Disabled people are rarely seen as reliable narrators of their own stories and experiences, and so everybody else becomes an authority upon us, and it makes it so much harder to actually advocate for ourselves against the backdrop of a society that has stolen our voices from us."

Everybody makes mistakes, but not everyone is willing to share them in the way Eric Wei, Devin Lytle, Sidney Raskind, and Evan Britton did at their VidCon 2025 panel called "F*ckups, Fixes, and Lessons Learned."

Lesson 1: Start creating with a clear mind and strategy

Devin Lytle, a creator who grew her YouTube channel to an audience of 179,000 subscribers, opened with a simple piece of advice: "Do not start a YouTube channel when you're depressed." After finding herself burnt out, struggling to find the joy in content creation, and without a clear strategy for her channel, she decided to step away from the front of the camera. " When you're starting a YouTube channel, you need to start off with a strategy. You need to start off with a clear mind and a clear head if you want to have long legs," Lytle said.

SEE ALSO: The 9 tech products you can't escape at VidCon 2025

So, how did she fix it? " I really leaned into producing and directing, and I've never been happier."

Lesson 2: Work smarter, not harder — repurpose content

No longer making content herself, Lytle now works with Sidney Raskind, a short-form creator who posts life hacks. Raskind similarly found himself in a state of burnout. It wasn't because he didn't enjoy the process of creation, but rather that three years of daily uploads left him exhausted and uninspired. Shortly after starting to work with Lytle, he decided to try re-uploading some of his content, a move he'd seen be successful with other creators in the life-hacking niche. " It was absolutely terrifying," Raskind shared.

Wei, Raskin, and Lytle talk their mistakes. Credit: Bethany Allard / Mashable

Yet, he found that his audience didn't mind; one of his most viral videos, which had received about 17 million views upon its first upload, received 15 million more on its re-upload. " I learned how many eyeballs can be on a single piece of content that has never been seen," he said. The experience also gave him the chance to test his content with different captions and posting times to see which garner more engagement.

Lesson 3: Balance creativity with business awareness

Eric Wei, the co-founder of Karat Financial and host of the Karat Podcast, learned in his role as business owner and content creator that the two don't always mix easily. For Wei, though the Karat Podcast focuses on long-form interviews, it is also an extension of his business, Karat Financial. After putting out an episode where one creator was critical of MrBeast, whose companies Wei had been in discussions with for collaboration with Karat, he decided to take the episode down.

SEE ALSO: VidCon Tips: Writing a video script for YouTube, TikTok, and more

While he felt that the podcast was part of a creative endeavor, he also acknowledged the business implications of his decision, saying, " I occupy a role in industry where the podcast I put out can also become an implicit endorsement of what I'm doing, which can also affect the business side."

All three creators talked about the impact of burnout, with Lytle advising the audience not to announce any hiatus they may take.

"Something I like to always tell myself is that the internet is where everyone spends their free time. And so one day they may spend time with you, one day they're gonna spend time with another creator or in another space," she said. "And if you're not there, it's OK. You'll be there next time."

Lesson 4: Let audience behavior guide your direction

Britton, the founder of Famous Birthdays, also shared a piece of advice we've heard throughout VidCon: follow the audience interest. " The best way to see what people want is by seeing what they search for," Britton said.

When he started Famous Birthdays, he imagined people would be interested in finding out A-list celebrities' birthdays, but the on-site search engine showed people were curious about their favorite online creators — people who Britton and his team had never heard of. He was worried about the site losing credibility, but decided to make sure the content of the site catered to the user base. Famous Birthdays didn't become the site he wanted it to initially, but it did become one that garners 30 million monthly users.

There are many ways to build a sustainable career as a content creator, but starting off can be really tough. One of the swiftest ways to break into the algorithm is by creating viral content.

The definition of "viral" varies depending on who you ask. For one creator, 100,000 views on a video is viral; for another, virality isn't accessed until the one million viewership threshold is passed. For an individual creator, a good rule of thumb is that a video goes viral when the views on that video is significantly higher than the views on a creator's typical content. Ultimately, viral videos are measured in impact, and there are dozens of ways to measure that, too.

SEE ALSO: 6 ways to measure your metrics as a creator

Creators with viral success often say that making a video reach a new audience is up to luck, and the real work lies in maintaining those views. All the experts agree: You need a good story, you need to lead with curiosity, and you need a solid hook. But here are three tips from three creators who have done the work successfully:

Be consistent

Jenny Solares's first viral video was a song parody. At the time, her video got about 500,000 views, which felt "huge." Now, she has more than 32,000 subscribers on YouTube, 942,000 followers on Instagram, and three million followers on TikTok. Multiple videos have crossed the one million view threshold on TikTok. Her tip for creating viral content? Be yourself and be consistent.

"It's a little tough because sometimes the videos that you expect to go viral don't, and the ones that you least expect to [go viral] do. I would say not to hold back on being yourself fully. Don't be scared to put your full personality into something. And be consistent," she said.

Study the masters

Jenny Hoyos' first viral video was a hack for making a $3 burrito. Now, with 9.15 million subscribers on YouTube, 186,000 followers on TikTok, and 172,000 followers on Instagram, her videos go viral all the time. But she finds that "anything [can be] a viral video." Her biggest recommendation for creating videos that will garner huge views is to "study what other people are doing and twist it."

"Either combine trends or try and put a twist to a trend. If people are doing something in the color blue, try and do it in the color red," she said.

Be yourself

Zay Dante's videos are fun, entertaining, and musical, and they do incredibly well on TikTok. He now has 431,000 subscribers on YouTube, 1.8 million followers on TikTok, and 400,000 followers on Instagram. You might have heard his tip for creating viral content, but he says it bears repeating: "Be yourself."

"I know that is the cliche," he said. "There's never been a better example of being yourself than being online, because everybody that I know, and everybody that you know as well, is trying to feed into an algorithm to a point where it is not natural anymore. Be yourself and do the things that you find funny, not the stuff you find funny because you think it's gonna make you go viral."

VidCon is an annual gathering for video creators, especially YouTube creators, and this year Mashable joined the fray. Our digital culture and shopping reporters are on the ground at the Anaheim Convention Center to check out the top panels and events — and to talk to as many creators as possible.

So, what's trending among the trendsetters?

We kept our eyes peeled for gadgets, tech accessories, cameras, and cute carry-alls as we roamed the VidCon 2025 convention room floor. Keep an eye on our new In My Bag series for more influencer-approved product recommendations.

And in the meantime, here's a recap of all the tech products we spotted at VidCon 2025.

The creator-approved selfie light

Have you heard of the Alix Earle selfie light, or have you been living off the grid? TikTok creator Alix Earle first recommended this simple clip-on camera light in a 2022 video, and it's been an Amazon bestseller ever since. TikTok creator Sa Nguyen told Mashable that she depends on this high-powered LED light to make content for her 4.3 million followers, but you don't need to be a TikTok "it girlie" to benefit from the spotlight.

Plus, it's on sale.

Opens in a new window Credit: Newmowa Newmowa 60 LED High Power Clip-on Light $25.49 at Amazon
$29.99 Save $4.50 Get Deal The vlogger's secret weapon: The DJI Osmo Pocket 3

We first reviewed the DJI Osmo Pocket 3 gimbal camera when it was first released in 2023, and it's still the undefeated champion of gimbal cameras. Any time we attend an event with a lot of influencers, we know we'll see this pocket camera everywhere, and so it was at VidCon 2025. Mashable Shopping Reporter Sam Mangino said she's spotted this popular camera all over the Creator floor, where "folks seem to be using it to vlog on the floor." This 4K camera is small enough to slip in your pocket, yet it can take professional-quality video in vertical and horizontal formats.

Opens in a new window Credit: DJI DJI Osmo Pocket 3 gimbal camera $799 at Amazon
Shop Now A personal fan

You know what's cute? Ghost lashes. You know what's not? Sweat. And as the world gets warmer, sweat is a very serious problem for folks dedicated to streaming as much of their daily life as possible. As Mashable reporters walked the VidCon 2025 convention floor, one gadget was inescapable: handheld portable fans.

Opens in a new window Credit: Gaiatop Gaiatop personal handheld fan $7.99 at Amazon
$9.99 Save $2 Get Deal Canon PowerShot V10

The DJI Osmo Pocket 3 is a godsend for creators who shoot outdoors and in crowded spaces, but it's also expensive. For creators at VidCon 2025 looking for something more economical, the Canon PowerShot V10 is the weapon of choice. This video camera can stand up by itself at any angle and is compact enough to take anywhere.

Opens in a new window Credit: Canon Canon PowerShot V10 camera $399 at Amazon
$429 Save $30 Get Deal A Sony vlogging camera

It's a tough question for creators: Canon or Sony? Both companies make more-than-capable video cameras for content creators, but creators have told us they enjoy using the Sony ZV-1F Vlog Camera for Content Creators and Vloggers. It has a built-in microphone array with a wind shield, and the Ultra-wide 20mm lens is ideal for filming YouTube videos in particular. If you need a pro-quality vlogging camera for under $500, it's one of the best.

Opens in a new window Credit: Sony Sony ZV-1F Vlog Camera for Content Creators and Vloggers $498 at Amazon
Shop Now The editing software of choice? Final Cut Pro

TikTokkers can keep CapCut. At VidCon 2025, it's all about Final Cut Pro. For Apple users who shoot and edit their own content, this Mac video editing software is indispensable. So far, it's the single most-recommended product we've encountered in conversations with creators. A subscription will set you back $299.99, but there is a free trial to test it out.

Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Final Cut Pro $299.99 at Apple
Free trial available Shop Now A portable hard drive

Creator Nicole Rafiee told us she relies on the SanDisk 1TB Portable SSD to store all her content, and she's not the only one. Not only is this an extremely popular hard drive (Amazon sells more than 8,000 monthly), but you'll also find it in the bags of Mashable's own reporters and editors.

Opens in a new window Credit: SanDisk SanDisk 1TB Extreme Portable SSD $99.99 at Amazon
$129.99 Save $30.00 Get Deal A flexible yet durable tripod

Photographers and videographers love this Joby tripod, and it's been a very common sight on the convention floor at VidCon 2025. (See if you can spot it in our review of the GoPro Hero 13 Black camera.) You can pick it up at Amazon or your photography retailer of choice.

Opens in a new window Credit: Joby JOBY GorillaPod 3K Ballhead Tripod Kit $69.99 at Amazon
Get Deal A professional microphone

Look, we love an adorable little pocket mic as much as the next person. But if you're really trying to succeed as a YouTuber or TikTokker, sometimes you need to upgrade your hustle – and your equipment. Mashable Shopping Reporter Samantha Mangino says she's seen this microphone all over VidCon so far.

Opens in a new window Credit: Rode RODE VideoMic Pro+ Camera-Mount Shotgun Microphone $294 at BH Photo & Video
Shop Now

Mashable will be live at Anaheim Convention Center this week covering VidCon 2025. Check back in the days ahead at Mashable.com, where we’ll be talking to your favorite creators, covering the latest trends, and sharing how creators are growing their followings, their influence, and making a living online.

Mashable reporters Christianna Silva, Bethany Allard, and Samantha Mangino contributed to this article.

To consume the news is no longer a simple matter of opening the newspaper or turning on the television. Now, more than ever, America's number one news source is social media. But in a sea of infographics, how is one to find trusted sources?

V Spehar, perhaps better known by their handle UnderTheDeskNews, provides thorough and informative news in a comforting package.

While V used to take news hits from under the safety of their desk, they've come out from under the desk and are encouraging their audience to do the same. To no longer be scared of the world and instead come out of hiding. As both a journalist and a content creator, V made a promise to their audience to deliver the news in a safe way to protect everyone's emotional health. Nearly five years on the job, they're still holding up their end of the bargain even as the news cycle gets heavier each day. At VidCon 2025, we sat down with V to discuss how they've grown their platform without losing audience trust.

In 2020, V Spehar pivoted from culinary to news content and UnderTheDeskNews was born. Credit: V Spehar / Røde / Mashable I would love to know what freedom content creation has given you as a journalist?

My whole life, I thought that if I could just get this job in the industry, then I'd be set for life, and I'd be comfortable. I'd have achieved something. And when I was the director of impact for the James Beard Foundation, I felt like I had achieved that. But I didn't. When I got the big girl job, I didn't feel super comfortable or taken care of. When I started making content, I had no expectations. I just did it for fun to start off. And now I have actually created the life for myself and the financial structure for myself that no amount of doing it the right way was giving me.

I hear that from many creators. I think content creation gives people a sense of empowerment.

It is just as hard for me to be a content creator and own Spehar Entertainment, which is the LLC that everything goes through. And we chose entertainment, intentionally mocking the Fox Entertainment, because I was afraid to be like, "I'm not gonna establish myself as a media company. That's so scary. I'll just be entertainment." I work just as hard, but I have more control of myself and my time. And I come to find out I love working with people. I don't love being in a corporate structure.

You're an essential news source for so many young people. How does that affect your approach to content creation?

Because I came into this a little bit older, and I had already established successful businesses before, I knew the thing I needed to start with was a promise to the audience — What am I selling? What's the product? And the product and the promise is that I will give you the day's news and events in a kind way from a safe space. I will give you current political topics that center [on] your emotional safety to learn. And that is the north star and the ethos and the boundary and the gutters of every single thing that I make.

I've spoken to a lot of creators about how they feel like it's really important to find a niche. Do you feel like it was that under-the-desk format that gave it a certain angle?

I think that was a visual representation of the promise. And as time went on and I gained their trust. I haven't actually been physically under the desk in over a year because the vibe is still there, the promise is still there, under the desk. It was a mandatory visual representation of what I was promising, and I had to be good on that promise long enough to come out of that box. I still like being under the desk sometimes, and if something's really sad, then we go back under the desk.

When Trump got elected, I said, "OK, I'll do the first 100 days under the desk." And I did, but it was actually making people a little sad, because they were like, "Oh, we're back hiding."

When I started to be out in public, and I started doing speaking gigs or going on TV or doing different stuff, people were really unnerved by me physically standing. It would take them a while to adjust. And so I was like to get everyone used to the fact that I have a full body, and that I could be upright, because even the physical angle is so different. So I'm glad that we have come out from under the desk. There's so much world that we have to visit, and I wouldn't be able to do things like gives speeches in Springfield, Missouri for queer communities that are never seen.

The news cycle is heavy right now. How are you taking care of yourself and avoiding burnout as a creator?

I lean on the other people who are doing incredible news creation. So let's say I don't do breaking news, because Aaron Parnas does it every 15 seconds. There's a skill and a group of people that want that, but I don't feel like I have to compete with that. We know there's a 40 percent crossover between my audience and his, that if they got that story, I'm moving on.

Before Trump was president, I could report on things that were happening, even if they were difficult. For example, the fall of Afghanistan was incredibly difficult, but it was happening, and I could trust that what was being reported from the Pentagon was factual. We could watch it on television or on social media.

Now, I have to hear what the White House or the Pentagon has said, fact-check it against my sources, and then also convince the audience that I am right. For example, when Pete Hegseth said he was sending 700 Marines from Camp Pendleton into Los Angeles, my contact was like, "It's not Camp Pendleton; it's Twentynine Palms, and the civilians may not know, but there's a big difference between Camp Pendleton, which is basic."

We're talking 17, 18, 19-year-olds. And Twentynine Palms, are Marines, who are 22, 23, 24, so they're still young, but they're full Marines. So I was like, OK, I'm like, they're not from Camp Pendleton, they're from Twentynine Palms, so this is what they're trained for, crowd control and riots. And people were like, that's not what Hegseth said. I say I know, but I also know I'm right.

The intent of the Trump administration, oftentimes, is to sow chaos and division and get people all worked up about something so that they can continue to push through with things that aren't happening. So I tend to try to be like, OK, Donald Trump has signed an executive order saying that trans women have to go to male prisons. Well, that's already been challenged, and it's actually already been won in court, and it never happened. So let's be calm on that one.

Do you ever feel tension between you and the audience when they're coming in with a really intense energy of panic, and you have to de-escalate while acknowledging their concerns?

So I have definitely done this more. I think there's like, being a journalist, and then there's being a creator, and creators care for the audience, the emotions, and thoughts. And journalists are supposed not to do that, so it's very tricky to walk that line, so I will give a little bit of both. So something happens, I'll be like, this is actually fucked up. If you feel like it's fucked up, it's because it is. And here's what's likely to come next. And then I can tell the truth that way.

And I have to do that a lot more than I want to, but you do have to do it because this idea of objectivity or just telling the facts, well, they don't provide facts, so you actually have to fill it in with historical evidence. Sometimes I feel like I do more history than telling them what's happening now, so that we're all kind of caught up.

As a creator, what was your experience in gaining a following? Was it one video that really took off, or a slow and steady build?

I started as a culinary creator. So I used to make cheeseburgers, all different kinds of crazy cheeseburgers and stuff you could use from stuff in your pantry.

So I was like doing that, just to try and give myself something to do in the pandemic. And I got a culinary following first. So I was like, food famous, before I switched over to doing the news. I never looked at the follower count. I always looked for return customers. I think I was trained for that from a culinary standpoint. It's like when you look at how many covers you have that night at a restaurant. We got 700 tonight. This is what it means for my staff.

But I'd be like, "Oh, Lisa's gonna be here tonight. I fucking love her". So I treat content like that. I'm always looking for my regulars.

At what point did you decide to cover the news full-time?

When I got laid off from the James Beard Foundation. So I got furloughed first, and so I really thought this dream job that I had achieved and spent so much of my time working towards would come back. And there came a point when I realized it wasn't going to come back. And also, it wasn't the same anymore, either. I had seen too much of how devalued I was to them. And then I was doing consulting work for food. I was working on, like, how we were gonna get veterans meals delivered while they were unhoused during the pandemic.

It wasn't until I actually got asked to be a featured creator at VidCon. I certainly didn't know what a featured creator was, and I didn't have management or anything. I showed up here just to do a panel or something. There were like 70,000 people who came to that first VidCon I attended. And that's when I started to be, like, this is a job, job.

Daniel from Palette Management was at my first VidCon. They were brand new at that time — I don't even know who they had signed. And he was like, "Hi, we were hoping to talk to you."

I was like, Okay. And he's like, "Where's your manager? I was like, "What do you mean?" And he's like, "Are you here alone? Oh God, oh no, don't be alone."

For content creation tools, what are the essentials you're using?

Røde Microphones. And I don't have a partnership. I don't make any money off of it. But I spent so much money on so many different pieces of equipment. So I had all the different types of lights, from the ones that go on your phone to big pancake lights. Now I have a studio light. I have all this stuff. I have all these different things, and I had all these different types of microphones, and the only ones that ever really worked were the like, plug-in earphones

I'll buy a car, but I won't buy, like, a $149 microphone. And Daniel ended up buying them for me with my money. So I started using them, and there was something about the sound quality and the way that it felt, and then I felt like I owed it to the audience to give them that superior sound.

Jon Bernthal's Frank Castle, aka the Punisher, will be making his big-screen debut in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, out in 2026.

Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) and starring Tom Holland, Spider-Man: Brand New Day marks the return of Peter Parker/Spider-Man following the game-changing ending of Spider-Man: No Way Home. That film saw Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) cast a spell that made the whole world forget who Peter Parker is, essentially re-setting the MCU's Spider-Man franchise as we know it.

SEE ALSO: All the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, ranked worst to best

Spider-Man: Brand New Day isn't the only MCU project Bernthal's Punisher — who debuted in Netflix's Daredevil before leading Netflix's The Punisher — has been involved in lately. He also showed up in Season 1 of Daredevil: Born Again and will be back for Season 2. Bernthal has also co-written the upcoming Punisher Special Presentation, working with co-writer and director Reinaldo Marcus Green.

The resolution of the Special Presentation and Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 could give viewers clues as to what to expect from the Punisher in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, but for now, plot details for Spidey's next film are understandably under wraps. Punisher's involvement could suggest a grittier, more street-level approach to Peter's story, as opposed to the multiversal and cosmic threats he faced in films like Avengers: Infinity War and Spider-Man: No Way Home.

Aside from Holland and Bernthal, Spider-Man: Brand New Day will also star Zendaya and Jacob Batalon, reprising their roles as MJ and Ned. Is there any chance of them remembering Peter, or even reconnecting with him anew? Also joining the cast is Stranger Things star Sadie Sink in an as-yet unknown role.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day hits theaters July 31, 2026.

June has become a big month for BTS fans, as every member of the massively successful K-pop boyband has now completed their mandatory military service. South Korea requires all non-disabled male citizens between the ages of 18 to 35 to complete 18 to 21 months of military duty.

Rapper Suga was the last of the BTS members to do so. As of Saturday, he was officially discharged from his duties as a social service agent, an alternative form of military service.

SEE ALSO: Jin takes over hosting 'The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon'

"It's been about two years. How have you all been?" Suga wrote in a post on Weverse, the fandom-focused social media platform created by HYBE Corporation.

Suga's discharge follows that of members RM and V, who were discharged June 10, and Jimin and Jung Kook, who were discharged June 11.

Jin, BTS's oldest member, was the first to enlist in the army, beginning his mandatory service in December 2023. He was discharged in June 2024, and J-Hope was discharged in October 2024.

Suga's return to civilian life has officially set the stage for a BTS comeback, which The Korea Herald reported is scheduled for March 2026. So, what's another few months' wait after several years away?

For now, though, the BTS ARMY is having the time of their life celebrating BTS's return online.

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The Mini is a bite-sized version of The New York Times' revered daily crossword. While the crossword is a lengthier experience that requires both knowledge and patience to complete, The Mini is an entirely different vibe.

With only a handful of clues to answer, the daily puzzle doubles as a speed-running test for many who play it.

So, when a tricky clue disrupts a player's flow, it can be frustrating! If you find yourself stumped playing The Mini — much like with Wordle and Connections — we have you covered.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable

Here are the clues and answers to NYT's The Mini for Saturday, June 21, 2025:

AcrossFeeling extremely happy

• The answer is Joyful.

Wake from sleep

• The answer is Arouse.

Brand of cinnamon-flavored chewing gum

• The answer is Big Red.

Talk and talk and talk

• The answer is Gab.

Bengal, colt or dolphin

• The answer is Animal.

TV show ending

• The answer is Finale.

Rook, to a chess newbie

• The answer is Castle.

DownQuick boxing punch

• The answer is Jab.

Beginnings

• The answer is Origins.

Where you might strike a pose?

• The answer is Yoga mat.

Nickname for a fuzzy cat

• The answer is Furball.

One of many for white vinegar

• The answer is Use.

Was winning

• The answer is Led.

The Bengals, Colts and Dolphins play in it: Abbr

• The answer is AFC.

___ DaCosta, director of 2023's "The Marvels"

• The answer is Nia.

Harper who wrote "To Kill a Mockingbird"

• The answer is Lee.

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Featured Video For You The Wordle Strategy used by the New York Times' Head of Games

Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to the latest Mini Crossword.

For the past 40 years, Henry and Margaret Tanner have been crafting leather shoes by hand from their small workshop in Boca Raton, Florida. "No shortcuts, no cheap materials, just honest, top notch craftsmanship," Henry says in a YouTube advertisement for his business Tanner Shoes.

What's even more remarkable?

Henry has been able to do all this despite his mangled, twisted hand. And poor Margaret only has three fingers, as you can see in this photo of the couple from their website.

An AI-generated image recently deleted from the Tanner Shoes website. Credit: Tanner Shoes

I discovered Tanner Shoes through a series of YouTube video ads. Having written about men's fashion for years, I was curious about these bespoke leather shoemakers. In a typical YouTube ad for Tanner Shoes, a video of an older man, presumably Henry, is imposed over footage of "handmade" leather shoes, as he wearily intones, "They don’t make them like they used to, but for 40 years we did...Customers say our shoes have a timeless look, and that they’re worth every penny. But now, you won’t have to spend much at all because we’re retiring. For the first and last time, every last pair is 80 percent off."

I suspect the Tanner Shoes "retirement" sale is every bit as real as the photos of Henry and Margaret Tanner. Outside of this advertisement, I have found no online presence for Henry and Margaret Tanner and no evidence of the Tanner Shoes business existing in Boca Raton. I reached out to Tanner Shoes to ask if its namesake owners exist, where the company is located, and if it's really closing soon, but I have not received a response.

Unsurprisingly, Reddit users have spotted nearly identical YouTube video ads for other phony mom-and-pop shops, showing that these misleading ads aren't a one-off. As one Reddit user said, "I've seen ads like this in German with an AI grandma supposedly closing her jewelry store and selling her 'hand-made' goods at a discount." After I asked YouTube about the Tanner Shoes ads, the company suspended the advertiser's account for violating YouTube policies.

A screenshot of a Tanner Shoes ad featuring a likely AI "actor." Credit: Tanner Shoes / YouTube

These ads are part of a growing trend of YouTube video advertisements featuring AI-generated content. AI video ads exist on Instagram and TikTok too, but as the original and most well-established video platform, I focused my investigation on YouTube, which is owned by Google.

While AI has legitimate uses in advertising, many of the AI video ads I found on YouTube are deceptive, designed to trick the viewer into buying leather shoes or diet pills. While reliable stats on AI scams are hard to find, the FBI warned in 2024 that cybercrime utilizing AI is on the rise. Overall, online scams and phishing have increased 94 percent since 2020, according to a Bolster.ai report.

AI tools can quickly generate lifelike videos, pictures, and audio. Using tools like this, scammers and hustlers can easily create AI "actors," for lack of a better word, to appear in their ads.

In another AI video ad Mashable reviewed, an AI actor pretends to be a financial analyst. I received this advertisement repeatedly over a series of weeks, as did many Reddit and LinkedIn users.

In the video, the nameless financial analyst promises, "I'm probably the only financial advisor who shares all his trades online," and that "I've won 18 of my last 20 trades." Just click the link to join a secret WhatsApp group. Other AI actors promise to help watchers discover an amazing weight loss secret ("I lost 20 pounds using just three ingredients I already had in the back of my fridge!"). And others are just straight-up celebrity deepfakes.

An AI-generated financial advisor that appeared in YouTube advertisements. Credit: YouTube / Mashable Photo Composite Celebrity deepfakes and deceptive AI video ads

I was surprised to find former Today host Hoda Kotb promoting sketchy weight loss tricks on YouTube, but there she was, casually speaking to the camera.

"Ladies, the new viral recipe for pink salt was featured on the Today show, but for those of you who missed the live show, I'm here to teach you how to do this new 30-second trick that I get so many requests for on social media. As a solo mom of two girls, I barely have time for myself, so I tried the pink salt trick to lose weight faster, only I had to stop, because it was melting too fast."

Sadly, pink salt won't magically make you skinny, no matter what fake Hoda Kotb says. (AI-generated material) Credit: YouTube

This fake Kotb promises that even though this weight loss secret sounds too good to be true, it's definitely legit. "This is the same recipe Japanese celebrities use to get thin. When I first learned about this trick, I didn't believe it either. Harvard and Johns Hopkins say it's 12 times more effective than Mounj (sic)...If you don't lose at least four chunks of fat, I'll personally buy you a case of Mounjaro pens."

Click the ad, and you'll be taken to yet another video featuring even more celebrity deepfakes and sketchy customer "testimonials." Spoiler alert: This video culminates not in the promised weight loss recipe, but in a promotion for Exi Shred diet pills. Representatives for Kotb didn't respond to a request for comment, but I found the original video used to create this deepfake. The real video was originally posted on April 28 on Instagram, and it was already being used in AI video ads by May 17.

Kotb is just another victim of AI deepfakes, which are sophisticated enough to slip past YouTube's ad review process.

Sometimes, these AI creations appear real at first, but pay attention, and you'll often find a clear tell. Because the Kotb deepfake used an altered version of a real video, the fake Kotb cycles through the same facial expressions and hand movements repeatedly. Another dead giveaway? These AI impersonators will often inexplicably mispronounce a common word.

The AI financial analyst promises to livestream trades on Twitch, only it mispronounces livestream as "give-stream," not "five-stream." And in AI videos about weight loss, AI actors will trip up over simple phrases like "I lost 35 lbs," awkwardly pronouncing "lbs" as "ell-bees." I've also seen phony Elon Musks pronounce "DOGE" like "doggy" in crypto scams.

However, there isn't always a tell.

Can you tell what's real? Are you sure? Can you tell what's real? Credit: Screenshot courtesy of YouTube

Once I started investigating AI video ads on YouTube, I began to scrutinize every single actor I saw. It's not always easy to tell the difference between a carefully airbrushed model and a glossy AI creation, or to separate bad acting from a digitally altered influencer video.

So, every time YouTube played a new ad, I questioned every little detail — the voice, the clothes, the facial tics, the glasses. What was real? What was fake?

Surely, I thought, that's not Fox News host Dr. Drew Pinsky hawking overpriced supplements, but another deepfake? And is that really Bryan Johnson, the "I want to live forever" viral star, selling "Longevity protein" and extra virgin olive oil? Actually, yes, it turns out they are. Don't forget, plenty of celebrities really do appear in commercials and YouTube ads.

Okay, but what about that shiny bald man with a super secret technique for lowering cholesterol that the pharmaceutical companies don't want you to know about? And is that girl-next-door type in the glasses really selling software to automate my P&L and balance sheets? I genuinely don't know what's real anymore.

Watch enough YouTube video ads, and the overly filtered models and influencers all start to look like artificial people.

Can you tell which of these videos are real? Credit: YouTube / TikTok / Mashable Photo Composite SEE ALSO: How to identify AI-generated videos

To make matters more complicated, most of the AI video ads I found on YouTube didn't feature characters and sets created from scratch.

Rather, the advertisers take real social media videos and change the audio and lip movements to make the subjects say whatever they want. Henry Ajder, an expert on AI deepfakes, told me that these types of AI videos are popular because they’re cheap and easy to make with widely available synthetic lip synchronization and voice cloning tools. These more subtle AI videos are virtually impossible to definitively identify as AI at a glance.

"With just 20 seconds of a person’s voice and a single photograph of them, it is now possible to create a video of them saying or doing anything," Hany Farid, a professor at the University of California Berkeley and an expert in artificial intelligence, said in an email to Mashable.

Ajder told me there are also multiple tools for “the creation of entirely AI-generated influencer style content.” And just this week, TikTok announced new AI-generated influencers that advertisers can use to create AI video ads.

TikTok now offers multiple "digital avatars" for creating influencer-style video ads. Credit: TikTok

YouTube is supposed to have solutions for deceptive ads. Google's generative AI policies and YouTube's rules against misrepresentation prohibit using AI for "misinformation, misrepresentation, or misleading activities," including for "Frauds, scams, or other deceptive actions." The policies also forbid "Impersonating an individual (living or dead) without explicit disclosure, in order to deceive."

So, what gives?

Consumers deserve clear disclosures for AI-generated content

For viewers who want to know the difference between reality and unreality, clear AI content labels in video advertisements could help.

When scrolling YouTube, you may have noticed that certain videos now carry a tag, which reads "Altered or synthetic content / Sound or visuals were significantly edited or digitally generated." Instead of placing a prominent tag over the video itself, YouTube typically puts this label in the video description.

You might assume that a video advertisement on YouTube generated by AI would be required to use this disclosure, but according to YouTube, that's not actually the case.

Using AI-generated material doesn’t violate YouTube ad policies (in fact, it's encouraged), nor is disclosure required in most cases. In fact, YouTube only requires AI disclosures for ads that use AI-generated content in election-related videos or political content.

The synthetic content label in the description of an AI short film on YouTube. Credit: YouTube

In response to Mashable’s questions about AI video ads, Michael Aciman, a Google Policy Communications Manager, provided this statement: “We have clear policies and transparency requirements for the use of AI-generated content in ads, including disclosure requirements for election ads and AI watermarks on ad content created with our own AI tools. We also aggressively enforce our policies to protect people from harmful ads — including scams — regardless of how the ad is created.”

There's another reason why AI video ads that violate YouTube's policies slip through the cracks — the sheer volume of videos and ads uploaded to YouTube each day. How big is the problem? A Google spokesperson told Mashable the company permanently suspended more than 700,000 scam advertiser accounts in 2024 alone. Not 700,000 scam videos, but 700,000 scam advertiser accounts. According to Google's 2024 Ads Safety Report, the company stopped 5.1 billion "bad ads" last year across its expansive ad network, including almost 147 million ads that violated the misrepresentation policy.

YouTube’s solution to deceptive AI content on YouTube? More AI, of course. While human reviewers are still used for some videos, YouTube has invested heavily in automated systems using LLM technology to review ad content. “To address the rise of public figure impersonation scams over the last year, we quickly assembled a dedicated team of over 100 experts to analyze these scams and develop effective countermeasures, such as updating our Misrepresentation policy to suspend the advertisers that promote these scams," a Google representative told Mashable.

After I asked the company about specific AI videos described in this article, YouTube suspended at least two advertiser accounts; users can also report deceptive ads for review.

However, while celebrity deepfakes are a clear violation of YouTube's ad policies (and federal law), the rules governing AI-generated actors and ads in general are far less clear.

AI video isn't going away

If YouTube fills up with AI-generated videos, you won't have to look far for an explanation. The call is very much coming from inside the house. At Google I/O 2025, Google introduced Veo 3, a breakthrough new model for creating AI video and dialogue. Veo 3 is an impressive leap forward in AI video creation, as I've reported previously for Mashable.

To be clear, Veo 3 was released too recently to be behind any of the deceptive videos described in this story. On top of that, Google includes a hidden watermark in all Veo 3 videos for identification (a visual watermark was recently introduced as well). However, with so many AI tools now available to the public, the volume of fake videos on the web is certain to grow.

One of the first Veo 3 viral videos I saw was a mock pharmaceutical ad. While the faux commercial was meant to be humorous, I wasn't laughing. What happens when a pharmaceutical company uses an AI actor to portray a pharmacist or doctor?

Deepfake expert Henry Ajder says AI content in ads is forcing us to confront the deception that already exists in advertising.

"One of the big things that it's done is it's held up a looking glass for society, as kind of how the sausage is already being made, which is like, 'Oh, I don't like this. AI is involved. This feels not very trustworthy. The feels deceptive.' And then, 'Oh, wait, actually, that person in the white lab coat was just some random person they hired from an agency in the first place, right?'"

In the United States, TV commercials and other advertisements have to abide by consumer protection laws and are subject to Federal Trade Commission regulations. In 2024, the FTC passed a rule banning the use of AI to impersonate government and business agencies, and Congress recently passed a law criminalizing deepfakes, the "Take It Down" Act. However, many AI-generated videos fall into a legal grey area with no explicit rules.

It's a tricky question: If an entire commercial is made with AI actors and no clear disclosure, is that advertisement definitionally deceptive? And is it any more deceptive than hiring actors to portray faux pharmacists, paying influencers to promote products, or using Photoshop to airbrush a model?

These are no longer hypothetical questions. YouTube already promotes using Google AI technology to create advertising materials, including video ads for YouTube, to "save time and resources." In a blog post, Google promotes how its "AI-powered advertising solutions can assist you with the creation and adaptation of videos for YouTube’s wide range of ad formats." And based on the success of Google Veo 3, it seems inevitable that platforms like YouTube will soon allow advertisers to generate full-length ads using AI. Indeed, TikTok recently announced exactly this.

"With just 20 seconds of a person’s voice and a single photograph of them, it is now possible to create a video of them saying or doing anything." - Hany Farid, a University of California Berkeley professor and expert in artificial intelligence

The FTC says that whether or not a company must disclose that it's using "AI actors" depends on the context, and that many FTC regulations are "technology neutral."

"Generally speaking, any disclosures that an advertiser would have to make about human actors (e.g., that they are only an actor and not a medical professional) would also be required for an AI-generated persona in an analogous situation," an FTC representative with the Bureau of Consumer Protection told Mashable by email.

The same is true for an AI creation providing a "testimonial" in an advertisement. "If the AI-generated individual is providing a testimonial (which would necessarily be fake) or claiming to have specific expertise (such as a medical degree or license or financial experience) that affects consumers’ perception of the speaker’s credibility, that may be deceptive," the representative said.

The FTC Act, a comprehensive statute that governs issues such as consumer reviews, prohibits the creation of fake testimonials. And in October 2024, the FTC regulation titled "Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials" specifically banned fake celebrity testimonials.

However, some experts on deepfakes and artificial intelligence believe new legislation is urgently needed to protect consumers.

"The current U.S. laws on the use of another person’s likeness are — at best — outdated and were not designed for the age of generative AI," Professor Farid said.

Again, the sheer volume of AI videos, and the ease of making them, will make enforcement of existing rules extremely difficult.

"I would go further and say that in addition to needing federal regulation around this issue, YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, and the others have to step up their enforcement to stop these types of fraudulent and misleading videos," Farid said.

And without clear, mandatory labels for AI content, deceptive AI video ads could soon become a fact of life.

Having covered virtual private networks (VPNs) for Mashable since 2019, I can tell you that "best VPN" and "paid VPN" are effectively synonyms. Getting a privacy-forward VPN with plenty of features and server locations inevitably means spending the equivalent of one fancy matcha latte per month.

So, while the word "free" is normally a red flag, there are two notable exceptions for users in search of the best free VPNs.

Among the reliable and trustworthy VPN services I've tested, both Proton VPN and TunnelBear offer free subscription tiers. They fit the bill for cash-strapped users with basic browsing needs. They only allow one connection at a time and come with lots of restrictions, so temper your expectations, but they're workable for certain use cases. More importantly, they're protected by the same privacy practices as their paid counterparts, including some vetted no-logs policies. Crucially, they're also subsidized by the paid plans: Proton VPN and TunnelBear don't make money off their free users.

SEE ALSO: The best VPNs for 2025: Tested for performance, trustworthiness, and more

Relatedly, I strongly recommend steering clear of any completely free VPNs that aren't funded by paid subscribers or subject to usage limits. At best, they're probably going to spam you with ads; at worst, some entirely free VPNs have been caught tracking, leaking, or selling user data and intentionally bundling their apps with malware. Not all of them are bad actors or evil scammers, but "exercise overcaution" is my general rule of thumb when it comes to choosing a VPN, since online privacy is the whole point of getting one in the first place. (See also: If something seems too good to be true, it probably is.)

Below, I delve into the capabilities and shortcomings of the two best free VPNs I've tried.

Proton VPN: The best free VPN for daily use Credit: Screenshot via Proton VPN What it can do

This is the free VPN I turn on when I want some extra security humming in the background while I work from a coffee shop. Proton VPN's free tier doesn't have any data or speed limits, so you can feasibly use it 24/7 — within reason. Proton may enact speed caps "in cases of excessive consumption in order to ensure service quality for all [free] users," according to its privacy policy.

Free subscribers can utilize Proton VPN's kill switch as well as its custom Stealth protocol, which is designed to bypass VPN blocks. As such, it may also appeal to journalists and activists in places that aren't friendly to the technology. They should know that the company is publicly supportive of online freedom causes: Among other initiatives, Proton VPN has opened additional free servers for users in countries known for government censorship and misinformation campaigns ahead of their elections.

What it can't do

Free Proton VPN users can't use its live chat support and don't get access to advanced features like split tunneling, its multi-hop "Secure Core" servers, or its "VPN Accelerator" speed-boosting tool. Free users are also restricted to about 2,300 Proton VPN servers in five countries — Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, and the United States — and they can't pick where they land. Let's hope the server you're given isn't too clogged or located in a country you don't want to appear in: There's a waiting period between server changes that increases every time you switch. It occasionally takes me a while to land on a relatively fast, uncrowded server. (For comparison's sake, Proton VPN Plus subscribers get city-level access to over 13,600 servers in 122 countries worldwide.)

SEE ALSO: After Pornhub left France, this VPN saw a 1,000% surge in signups in 30 minutes

Since your server options are so limited, Proton VPN Free isn't ideal for general location spoofing or unblocking popular streaming services (two common secondary use cases for VPNs), unless your needs involve one of those five countries. Even then, there's no guarantee you'll get on a server in your preferred locale immediately.

Read my full review of Proton VPN.

Opens in a new window Credit: Proton Proton VPN Free $0 with no data limit Learn More TunnelBear: The best free VPN for occasional location spoofing Credit: Screenshot via TunnelBear What it can do

TunnelBear Free users get country-level server selection on its full network, so this is the VPN I boot up when I need to do some quick, one-off location spoofing. (Most recently, I used it to check if sold-out vinyl variants were still available in an artist's UK store.) TunnelBear had locations in 47 countries at the time of writing; it's not very globally diverse, but it gives you way more options and flexibility compared to the competition.

Feature-wise, TunnelBear's free crew can enable its kill switch (called "VigilantBear") and its split tunneling tool ("SplitBear"), which lets you exempt different kinds of traffic depending on the platform. You can also customize the appearance of your TunnelBear app.

What it can't do

TunnelBear Free users are capped at 2GB of browsing data per month, which means you won't be able to have it on all the time. (I managed to hit that limit in a single afternoon when I left the VPN running while I worked.) Even if you could stay connected 24/7, you wouldn't be able to stream hours of shows and movies. While TunnelBear Free is great at spoofing my location, I've never gotten it to unblock geo-restricted content on international streaming services because they've detected my VPN usage. This has also been the case when I tested TunnelBear Unlimited, its paid tier, for what it's worth.

Along similar lines, TunnelBear Free users aren't missing out on a ton of features compared to their paying comrades because TunnelBear just isn't a very robust, feature-rich VPN service to begin with. There's no multi-hop, it doesn't offer on-demand customer support, and it works on fewer platforms than other premium VPNs.

Read my full review of TunnelBear.

Opens in a new window Credit: TunnelBear TunnelBear Free $0 for 2GB of data per month Learn More

I'm one of those people who literally cannot sleep without white noise playing in the background. Otherwise, I'm stuck staring at the ceiling, trying to will myself into a slumber. Thankfully, I have a great sound machine at home that whisks me off to dreamland every night instead of allowing my hyperactive brain to wander. It's improved my overall sleep quality by quite a bit ever since I started using it, but only when I'm home. When I'm traveling, I'm pretty much out of luck — my Hatch Restore is too bulky to carry around with me, and I'm not too keen on checking a bag at the airport just so I can pack an alarm clock.

So, after countless sleepless nights in hotel rooms and vacations marred by tired eyes, I bought this teeny-tiny sound machine on a whim, and let me tell you, it may be the best $25 I've spent all year.

Sidenote: I think Babelio technically made this sound machine for babies. But you know what? I'm going to keep using it. Aren't we all just former babies, anyway?

Without the Babelio portable sound machine, I have to rely on Spotify and a really long white noise playlist, which kind of worked, but at the expense of my iPhone's battery (it dies very quick now). Unfortunately, sleep earbuds just aren't for me.

Opens in a new window Credit: Babelio Babelio portable sound machine $24.99 at Amazon
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Babelio's portable white noise machine is pocket-sized, but does just as good of a job getting me to sleep as my Hatch does at home. The circumference of the compact speaker is about the size of a quarter, making it a cinch to bring on the go. You can even add on a carrying case for it, which has a convenient little strap so you can attach it to your bag. I grabbed one of those, too, and definitely recommend it. I like how minimalistic it looks; I picked the sleek wood grain finish, but there are a lot more options to choose from.

It has a pretty short battery life — it lasted me only three nights before needing a charge — but the tradeoff for its portability is totally worth it. Plus, you can charge the device during use, so I'm never confronted with any mid-sleep interruptions.

I really dig the minimalistic, wood grain design. Credit: Dylan Haas / Mashable Hard to screw things up when there's only three buttons. Credit: Dylan Haas / Mashable

The pint-sized noise machine features 15 non-looping tracks to choose from, including white noise, pink noise, brown noise, oscillating fan, rain, waves, insects, campfire, birds, streams, and more. I usually stick to the plain white noise, but it’s nice to have the options to play around with.

It also has a programmable timer in case you’d like it to turn off automatically while you catch some Zs, and has a memory function that remembers your preferred track, volume, and time settings from your last session. I don't use this feature much at all, but I could see it being useful for a quick power nap.

This pint-sized device makes a big impression. Credit: Dylan Haas / Mashable

The cherry on top? This sound machine goes on sale quite often. At the time of this writing, it's just $16.99 on Amazon, so if you want one, take advantage of the discount. (And if you want to wait until later, it'll probably go on sale again soon.)

It's hard to believe, but this year is already halfway over.

Since January, a lot has happened in the tech world. It's a fickle, fast-paced industry, and some major products and services haven't survived past the mid-year mark.

Some of the entries on our list lived long, fruitful lives and contributed lasting legacies to the ever-evolving space. (RIP, Skype.) Others were flash-in-the-pan features or straight-up flops (we're looking at you, Humane AI Pin), destined to meet their inevitable demise. Regardless, they're all worthy of remembering for the way they impacted our lives — even if that impact was just as a punchline.

Join us as we look back at the year so far and say goodbye or good riddance to the tech that died along the way.

Humane AI Pin 

Oh, AI Pin, we hardly knew ye. After less than a year, Humane's attempt to replace the smartphone with a screenless, AI-powered werable pin came to an untimely end. In theory, the concept of an AI assistant that projected a screen on your hand or a surface sounded pretty intriguing. But Humane's execution of the AI pin was all wrong. From the beginning, reviewers panned the $700 device for myriad reasons, including its faulty projector, finicky response to hand gestures, inaccurate AI responses, and overheating issues. Returns of the AI Pin soon flooded in, and Humane shut down support in February 2025.

Humane may have failed to develop a useful AI wearable, but OpenAI is taking a crack at it. Sam Altman was an investor in Humane, and under his direction, OpenAI recently announced a partnership with Jony Ive, the iconic designer of the iPhone, to create an AI device.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. Skype

Ubiquitous video calling apps like Zoom and FaceTime owe a debt of gratitude to Skype. Twenty-two years ago, the only way to call someone was through an (often) expensive phone plan. Long-distance calls were an extravagance, only made for special occasions or emergencies.

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Then, along came Skype in 2003, offering free calls between users over the internet. Not only did it disrupt the telecom industry, it made video calling a thing when it added video support in 2006. Eventually, Skype was acquired by Microsoft in 2011, and it lived an increasingly irrelevant existence as other video calling apps from Apple, Google, and the aforementioned Zoom came on the scene. In February, Microsoft announced that it would retire Skype by May and migrate users to its other video platform, Teams.

Forced retirement is a bittersweet ending. But Skype lived a good, long life, and we'll always have its legacy.

Pocket 

The OG bookmarking app is saying goodbye this year. Mozilla, which has owned Pocket since 2017, announced in May that it was shutting down the read-later platform, with support ending on July 8.

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Pocket launched in 2007 as Read It Later and grew to 30 million users, according to Mozilla. As Mashable's CJ Silva described, the app quickly became a popular service "just as social news and social bookmarking began to take off." But according to Mozilla, "the way people use the web has evolved, so we’re channeling our resources into projects that better match their browsing habits and online needs."

Change is hard, but if you want to keep your bookmarking habits, Silva recommended a bunch of great Pocket alternatives. Just think of Pocket every time you hit "save."

Zelle (kind of)

The Venmo alternative shut down its mobile app in April, but it lives on through your bank. Announced in October 2024, Zelle said it would phase out the standalone app since it only facilitates around two percent of transactions. Instead, it will focus on its money exchange service through the many financial institutions it has partnered with.

"Today, the vast majority of people using Zelle to send money use it through their financial institution’s mobile app or online banking experience, and we believe this is the best place for Zelle transactions to occur," according to the 2024 press release. And now, this plan has gone into effect.

Meta fact-checking program 

At the start of President Donald Trump's second non-consecutive term in office, Mark Zuckerberg launched his MAGA makeover. This began with ending Meta's fact-checking program for being "too politically biased," according a video announcement on Facebook. President Trump has accused social media sites of censoring right-wing content, and Zuckerberg seemingly endorsed this viewpoint in killing the program. "What started as a movement to be more inclusive has increasingly been used to shut down opinions and shut out people with different ideas, and it’s gone too far," said Zuckerberg in the video.

Instead, Meta has implemented a crowd-sourced community notes approach, like Elon Musk's X. Meta began implementing community notes across Facebook, Instagram, and Threads on March 18.

TikTok Creator Marketplace (kind of)

This is another entry that's not so much a true death but a reincarnation, if you will. TikTok shut down its Creator Marketplace, a valuable tool for creators to connect with brands for ad campaigns. Instead, it folded the marketplace into TikTok One, a new platform geared towards advertisers with a whole bunch of generative AI tools.

One of those tools is an AI avatar feature, which lets brands create AI-generated people showing off their products. How that impacts creators looking for partnerships remains to be seen. But creators have also proven to be resilient through the looming ban and trade wars.

Mr. Deepfakes

Ding dong, Mr. Deepfakes is dead. We'll gladly celebrate the shutdown of the notorious site known for hosting nonconsensual deepfake porn. As first spotted by 404 Media, the Mr. Deepfakes URL redirected to a "Shutdown Notice" in early May.

According to the message, the shutdown was forced by a service provider that "has terminated service permanently." It also said Mr. Deepfakes "will not be relaunching" and "this domain will eventually expire and we are not responsible for future use."

Just a week before, Congress passed the Take It Down Act, which made posting nonconsensual intimate imagery (NCII) a federal crime and gives stronger recourse for victims of such content. It's unclear if the shutdown was related, but regardless, regulators are paying attention to the widespread issue.