Viral phenomena or viral sensation are objects or patterns that are able to replicate themselves or convert other objects into copies of themselves when these objects are exposed to them. Analogous to the way in which viruses propagate, the term viral pertains to a video, image, or written content spreading to numerous online users within a short time period. This concept has become a common way to describe how thoughts, information, and trends move into and through a human population.
Samuel Pepper is an English internet personality and reality TV contestant. Pepper appeared as a contestant on the 11th season of Big Brother in 2010. Later that same year, he started a YouTube channel, where he initially posted extreme pranks. These pranks often received backlash for featuring assault and cruelty. In 2016 Pepper shifted to vlogging and then again in 2019 shifted to comedy videos, starting a TikTok channel in 2020. In 2021, Pepper worked with FaZe Clan to promote the Save the Kids token pump-and-dump scheme as an independent contractor. Pepper also began streaming from Kick in 2023, where resumed posting controversial prank content in addition to posting gambling content.
Cody Michael Kolodziejzyk, better known as Cody Ko, is a Canadian YouTuber, podcaster, comedian, and rapper. His style of content is often crudely comedic and profane. As of April 2023, his five YouTube channels have collectively earned over 9.37 million subscribers and 1.86 billion views.
"Mia Khalifa" (originally titled "Mia Khalifa (Diss)", also known as "Hit or Miss", and sometimes stylized as "MiA KHALiFA") is a song by American hip hop group iLoveFriday (stylized as iLOVEFRiDAY). The duo of Atlanta-based rappers Aqsa Malik (also known as Smoke Hijabi) and Xeno Carr self-released the song on February 12, 2018, which was later re-released by Records Co and Columbia Records on December 14, 2018. It was included on their second EP, Mood (2019). The song was produced by Carr. The song is a diss track targeting Mia Khalifa, a Lebanese-American Internet celebrity and former pornographic actress. The decision to write a song dissing Khalifa arose over a misunderstanding. A faked screenshot, intended as a joke, seemed to show Khalifa, who once appeared in a pornographic film wearing a hijab, criticizing Malik for smoking while wearing a hijab in a music video. iLoveFriday thought the screenshot was legitimate.
Nigel Ng Kin-ju is a Malaysian comedian and YouTuber. He is best known for co-creating and portraying Uncle Roger, a character representing a middle-aged Asian uncle with an exaggerated Cantonese accent who is usually seen aggressively critiquing people's attempts at cooking Asian food.
Ajey Nagar, better known as CarryMinati, is an Indian YouTuber, streamer and rapper from Faridabad, India. He is known for his roasting videos, comedic skits and reactions to various online topics on his channel CarryMinati. His other channel CarryisLive is dedicated to gaming and live streams. With over 40 million subscribers as of August 2023, he is the most-subscribed individual YouTuber in Asia.
Drew Gooden is an American commentary YouTuber and comedian who makes comedic videos, mainly on internet culture and pop culture. His YouTube channel has over four million subscribers. Before YouTube, Gooden was a Viner best known for his "Road Work Ahead" Vine. He often collaborates with fellow YouTuber Danny Gonzalez; the two went on their We Are Two Different People Tour in 2019. In 2021, Gooden won the Streamy Award for Commentary.
Dancing Pallbearers, also known by a variety of names, including Dancing Coffin, Coffin Dancers, Coffin Dance Meme, or simply Coffin Dance, is the informal name given to a group of pallbearers from Nana Otafrija Pallbearing and Waiting Service who are based in the coastal town of Prampram in the Greater Accra Region of southern Ghana, although they perform across the country as well as outside Ghana. The founder and leader of the group is Benjamin Aidoo. Locally, they are referred to as Dada awu.
Larri Merritt, professionally known as Larray, is an American YouTuber and social media influencer. He produces comedic video content on his YouTube channel, and was part of the collaborative TikTok collective known as The Hype House. After initially gaining prominence on Vine, he started uploading videos onto YouTube after the former became defunct.
Bryce Michael Hall is an American social media personality and bare knuckle boxer. He is most known for his videos on TikTok and YouTube. As of October 9, 2023, his TikTok account has 24 million followers, and his YouTube channel has 3 million subscribers.
Brittany Alexis Tomlinson, known professionally as Brittany Broski, is an American social media personality, YouTuber, and comedian. She initially gained fame after a video of her tasting kombucha for the first time went viral on TikTok in 2019. She signed to United Talent Agency later that year and has since hosted the TikTok-produced podcast For You (2021), the pop culture-focused podcasts Violating Community Guidelines (2022–2023) with Sarah Schauer, The Broski Report (2023–present), and the YouTube talk show Royal Court (2023–present). She has frequently been referred to as one of TikTok's biggest stars and noted for her meme-focused humor.
Kurtis Matthew Kenneth Conner is a Canadian comedian, YouTuber, and podcaster. As of May 2024, his channel has over 4.96 million subscribers.
Daniel James Gonzalez is an American commentary YouTuber and musician who originally came to prominence for his short comedy sketches on Vine in 2014. He created his main YouTube channel that same year, subsequently moving over to YouTube full-time when Vine closed down in 2017. His three personal channels and three group channels have collectively earned around 8.57 million subscribers, and 1.54 billion views, as of June 2023.
YouTubers vs. TikTokers, billed as Battle of the Platforms was an exhibition boxing event which featured YouTubers and TikTokers. The main event was between American YouTuber Austin McBroom and American TikToker Bryce Hall. The co-main event was between YouTuber AnEsonGib and TikToker Tayler Holder. It was held on June 12, 2021, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.
YouTube Shorts is the short-form section of the American video-sharing site YouTube. Shorts focuses on vertical videos that are less than 60 seconds of duration and various features for user interaction. As of May 2024, Shorts have collectively earned over 5 trillion views since the platform was made available to the public on July 13, 2021, which include video views that pre-date the YouTube Shorts feature. Creators earn money based on the amount of views they receive, or through ad revenue. The increased popularity of YouTube Shorts has led to concerns about addiction for teenagers.
"World Cup" is a song by American YouTuber and streamer IShowSpeed. It was released on November 4, 2022, through Warner Records, in honor of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The song has gained viral attention with the music video on YouTube having over 134 million views as of April 2024, and being number 11 on the Top 100 Music Videos United States playlist by YouTube Music Global Charts as of January 1, 2023. As of January 2024, The song has been used in TikToks, YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels an accumulated one million times.
Kristina Lee Halliwell Collins, also known as KallMeKris, is a Canadian social media personality and hairdresser from British Columbia. She is known for her skits that range from thirty seconds to a minute long. Collins began posting on TikTok in April 2020. As of June 2024, she has 50.6 million followers, making her the most-followed TikToker from Canada and the 27th overall. Her YouTube channel, which she began uploading to in 2020, has 11.1 million subscribers as of June 2024.
Ben Brainard is an American stand-up comedian and social media personality. He gained attention on TikTok and other social media with his sketch series The Table, in which he acts out conversations between various American states. As of March 2024, he has 2.9 million TikTok followers.
Ryan Wayne Shakes is an American social media personality. After creating content on Musical.ly at a young age, Shakes gained a following on the latter's predecessor, TikTok, where he has over 6 million followers as of May 2023. He is the founder and owner of the online store ShakeyFam.
Skibidi Toilet is a machinima web series of YouTube videos and shorts created by Alexey Gerasimov and uploaded on his YouTube channel DaFuq!?Boom!. Produced using Source Filmmaker, the series follows a fictional war between human-headed toilets and humanoid characters with electronic devices for heads.
