News

Cover Story

On HALO

17 hours ago

How clips ate the internet

A person scrolls through the social media app X on a phone. | Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images Our social media feeds are being inundated by clips. Big names like Justin Bieber, reality shows like RuPaul’s Drag Race, and even AI companies like Perplexity — they’re all using bite-sized video segments to advertise themselves on social media. And they’re not just posting from their own accounts; they’re paying thousands of anonymous people to do it for them. This practice, a marketing tactic known as clipping, is everywhere — and still spreading. The Verge’s Mia Sato recently wrot...