Facebook's $1 billion influencer gambit


TikTok is now the first non-Facebook app to reach three billion downloads globally, Sensor Tower reported Wednesday, an achievement made all the more notable when taken alongside news of Facebook's plan to pay creators $1 billion through the end of 2022, per CNBC.
Facebook's billion-dollar gambit is just the latest in the creator-courting "arms race," The New York Times writes, and plays into a larger effort from the social network to pry influencers away from apps like the record-breaking TikTok and onto its platforms. TikTok already has its own "deep relationships" within the creator community.
Under the new program, influencers can earn money by using specific Facebook and Instagram features — like regularly-scheduled live streams, for example — or by hitting certain milestones, per the Times. The $1 billion will be "allocated among creators of all types," and Facebook plans to create a system for creators to "track their bonuses on Instagram and Facebook by the end of the year." For now, the program is invite-only.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Direct payments are becoming an "increasingly common way to try and pry creators away from TikTok," the Times writes. Snapchat tried something similar last year, and Facebook had previously paid TikTokers and Youtubers to use certain Instagram features.
"We want to build the best platforms for millions of creators to make a living," said Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. "Investing in creators isn't new for us, but I'm excited to expand this work over time."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.
-
How Zohran Mamdani's NYC mayoral run will change the Democratic Party
Talking Points The candidate poses a challenge to the party's 'dinosaur wing'
-
Book reviews: '1861: The Lost Peace' and 'Murderland: Crime and Bloodlust in the Time of Serial Killers'
Feature How America tried to avoid the Civil War and the link between lead pollution and serial killers
-
Brian Wilson: the troubled genius who powered the Beach Boys
Feature The musical giant passed away at 82
-
Disney, Universal sue AI firm over 'plagiarism'
Speed Read The studios say that Midjourney copied characters from their most famous franchises
-
Social media: How 'content' replaced friendship
Feature Facebook has shifted from connecting with friends to competing with entertainment companies
-
Amazon launches 1st Kuiper internet satellites
Speed Read The battle of billionaires continues in space
-
Meta on trial: What will become of Mark Zuckerberg's social media empire?
Today's Big Question Despite the CEO's attempt to ingratiate himself with Trump, Meta is on trial, accused by the U.S. government of breaking antitrust law
-
Test flight of orbital rocket from Europe explodes
Speed Read Isar Aerospace conducted the first test flight of the Spectrum orbital rocket, which crashed after takeoff
-
What does an ex-executive's new memoir reveal about Meta's free speech pivot?
Today's Big Question 'Careless People' says Facebook was ready to do China censorship
-
What's Mark Zuckerberg's net worth?
In Depth The Meta magnate's products are a part of billions of lives
-
Apple pledges $500B in US spending over 4 years
Speed Read This is a win for Trump, who has pushed to move manufacturing back to the US