Meta woos YouTube stars with six-figure payouts for new video format

The social media giant confirmed its strategy to subsidize production costs, characterizing the payments as direct support for creators during the platform's rollout phase. By targeting established YouTube personalities, Instagram aims to bypass the typical audience-building hurdle, attempting to instantly transplant high-engagement content into its own ecosystem. This spending spree highlights Meta’s intent to pivot its video strategy beyond the short-form dominance of Reels, directly challenging the business model that has defined YouTube’s dominance for over a decade.