BuzzFeed facts for kids
Logo used since 2019
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Formerly
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BuzzFeed Laboratories (2006–2016) |
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| Public | |
| Traded as | NASDAQ: BZFD |
| ISIN | ISIN: [https://isin.toolforge.org/?language=en&isin=US12430A1025 US12430A1025] |
| Industry | Online media |
| Founded | November 1, 2006 |
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| Headquarters |
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U.S.
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Key people
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| Revenue |  US$253 million (2023) |
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Operating income
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▲ −US$40 million (2023) |
| ▲ −US$89 million (2023) | |
| Total assets | US$411 million (2023) |
| Total equity | US$109 million (2023) |
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Number of employees
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925 (December 2023) |
| Subsidiaries | HuffPost |
BuzzFeed, Inc. is an American online media company. It focuses on news and entertainment content for the internet. Based in New York City, BuzzFeed started in 2006. It was founded by Jonah Peretti and John S. Johnson III. Their first goal was to find and share content that quickly became popular online. Kenneth Lerer, a co-founder of The Huffington Post, also helped start BuzzFeed as an investor.
The company first became known for its fun online quizzes, "listicles" (articles made mostly of lists), and pop culture stories. Over time, BuzzFeed grew into a large media and technology company. It now covers many different topics, like politics, do-it-yourself (DIY) projects, animals, and business. BuzzFeed earns money through "native advertising." This means ads are designed to look like regular articles or videos, making them more likely to be seen.
In 2011, BuzzFeed hired Ben Smith to lead its news efforts. This helped the site create longer, more detailed news stories under the BuzzFeed News name. BuzzFeed News won several awards, including the Pulitzer Prize, for its investigative journalism. Later, BuzzFeed News became its own separate website. However, in April 2023, BuzzFeed announced it would close BuzzFeed News. The company decided to focus its news efforts on HuffPost instead.
A survey in 2014 found that many people in the United States did not see BuzzFeed as a very reliable news source.
Contents
History of BuzzFeed
Before starting BuzzFeed, Jonah Peretti worked at a place called Eyebeam. There, he experimented with different ways to make content go viral online.
In 2006, while working at The Huffington Post, Peretti began BuzzFeed as a side project. He partnered with his former supervisor, John Johnson. At first, BuzzFeed didn't have writers or editors. It used a special computer program to find stories that were quickly becoming popular across the internet. The site even had an instant messaging tool called BuzzBot. This tool would send users links to popular content. Later, BuzzFeed started highlighting the most popular links that BuzzBot found. Peretti then hired people to help describe this popular content. In 2011, he hired Ben Smith to build a news team. This team would create original news stories in addition to the popular "listicles."
In 2016, BuzzFeed officially separated its content. BuzzFeed News focused on news, and the BuzzFeed Entertainment Group handled entertainment. By 2017, BuzzFeed had about 1,700 employees around the world. However, the company later had to reduce its staff in 2019. In 2020, BuzzFeed made a deal with Universal Television to create TV shows based on its stories.
In March 2022, some top editors at BuzzFeed News left the company. This led to more job changes in the newsroom.
How BuzzFeed Got Money
BuzzFeed received its first major funding in 2008. Over the years, it continued to raise money from different investors. By 2013, the company was making a profit.
In 2014, BuzzFeed's income passed $100 million. It also raised $50 million from a company called Andreessen Horowitz. BuzzFeed earns its money from "native advertising." These ads look like regular content on the site. BuzzFeed also uses its knowledge of social media to place ads on platforms like Facebook.
In 2015, NBCUniversal invested $200 million in BuzzFeed. They invested another $200 million in 2016. The two companies worked together on many projects. By 2025, Comcast and NBCUniversal own about one-third of BuzzFeed.
In 2019, Facebook started funding two BuzzFeed News shows. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, BuzzFeed cut employee salaries temporarily. This helped avoid layoffs at that time.
In June 2021, BuzzFeed announced plans to become a public company. This meant its shares could be bought and sold on the stock market. It also planned to buy another company called Complex Networks.
Buying Other Companies and Stock Market
BuzzFeed bought its first company, Kingfish Labs, in 2012. This company helped with Facebook ads. In 2014, BuzzFeed bought Torando Labs to help with its data.
In November 2020, BuzzFeed announced it would buy HuffPost. This deal made Verizon Media a part-owner of BuzzFeed.
In June 2021, BuzzFeed went public on the Nasdaq stock exchange. It also acquired Complex Networks.
In February 2024, BuzzFeed sold Complex to another company. It also considered selling Tasty, its popular food brand. These sales showed the company was changing its focus. In July 2024, BuzzFeed sold its travel brand, Bring Me! In December 2024, BuzzFeed sold First We Feast, which makes the show Hot Ones.
Vivek Ramaswamy's Investment
In May 2024, investor Vivek Ramaswamy bought a large share of BuzzFeed. He later increased his ownership. Ramaswamy believed the company was worth more than its stock price showed. He also said he wanted to change the company's political direction. However, most of the voting power in BuzzFeed belongs to founder Peretti and his close partners. This means Ramaswamy has little say in how the company is run, despite owning many shares.
BuzzFeed Content
BuzzFeed creates new content every day. This includes work from its own reporters, guest writers, cartoon artists, and its community of users. Popular types of content on the website include lists, videos, and quizzes.
BuzzFeed often ranked as a top publisher on Facebook. Over time, BuzzFeed added more traditional content, like breaking news and detailed articles.
News Stories
BuzzFeed's news section started in December 2011. It hired Mark Schoofs, a Pulitzer Prize winner, in 2013 to lead investigative reporting. By 2016, BuzzFeed had 20 investigative journalists. As mentioned, the BuzzFeed News division closed in April 2023.
Videos
BuzzFeed Video is a main YouTube channel that creates original videos. Its production team is in Los Angeles. Since 2012, BuzzFeed Video has made many video series, including "The Try Guys." In 2014, the company announced a new group called BuzzFeed Motion Pictures. This group might even make full-length movies. By September 2021, BuzzFeed Video's YouTube channel had over 17.4 billion views and more than 20.3 million subscribers.
Podcasts
BuzzFeed started a podcast team in 2015. They created podcasts like Another Round and Internet Explorer. In September 2018, BuzzFeed closed its podcast department. Most of its podcasts were canceled.
- Former podcasts
- Another Round
- Internet Explorer
- The News
- See Something, Say Something
- Thirst Aid Kit
- Reporting To You
- Rerun
- The Tell Show
- Women of the Hour
Community Content
In 2012, a humor website made a funny list of "Suggested BuzzFeed Articles." BuzzFeed liked the idea so much that it created many of the suggestions. This led BuzzFeed to ask users to submit their own content. In May 2013, the website launched its "Community" section. This allows users to share their own posts. Users can increase their ability to submit content by gaining "Cat Power," which shows how important they are in the BuzzFeed Community.
By January 2017, content created by BuzzFeed users had been viewed 100 million times.
Technology and Social Media
Most people find BuzzFeed content because it is shared on social media websites. BuzzFeed tries to create content that will become very popular online. It constantly checks how well its articles and videos are doing. The company uses a special computer program called "Viral Rank" to help editors, users, and advertisers try out many different ideas. This helps the content reach as many people as possible. In 2014, 75% of BuzzFeed's views came from links on social media sites like Pinterest, Twitter, and Facebook.
Tasty Food Videos
Tasty is BuzzFeed's very popular video series about comfort food. It is made for Facebook, where it had 100 million followers by December 2019. Tasty has much more views than BuzzFeed's regular food website. The channel has several spin-off shows, like "Tasty Junior" for kids. Tasty has also released its own cookbook and kitchen products. These products are sold in stores like Walmart. Tasty also sells a smart induction cooktop called "One Top" and "Tasty Kits" for cooking at home.
In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, "Tasty" streamed a special online event called the Saturday Night Seder. Many celebrities took part, and it helped raise money for a good cause.
Worth It Series
Since 2016, Tasty has also sponsored a show called Worth It. In each episode, three friends, Steven Lim, Andrew Ilnyckyj, and Adam Bianchi, visit three different food places. Each place has a very different price for the same type of food. Steven Lim also stars in "Worth It – Lifestyle" videos. These videos are similar, but they focus on items or experiences like plane seats or haircuts. Lim left BuzzFeed in 2019 to start his own company.
BuzzFeed Unsolved Series
BuzzFeed Unsolved was a very successful web series on BuzzFeed Multiplayer. The show was created by Ryan Bergara. It features Ryan and Shane Madej (who replaced an earlier co-host). The show looks at some of history's most famous unsolved mysteries. It presents them and the ideas about them in a funny way. In some episodes, they visit the real places connected to the mystery. Many episodes focus on supernatural or paranormal topics. Ryan and Shane often go ghost hunting during their investigations. In late 2019, Ryan and Shane started their own company, Watcher Entertainment. However, they continued to make BuzzFeed Unsolved with BuzzFeed until November 2021. Their new show, Ghost Files, is similar to BuzzFeed Unsolved.
The Try Guys Series
The Try Guys are a group of friends: Eugene Lee Yang, Zach Kornfeld, Keith Habersberger, and formerly Ned Fulmer. They put themselves in different, sometimes funny, situations and record what happens. In June 2018, the four left BuzzFeed. They then created their own independent YouTube channel, also called "The Try Guys."
Night In/Night Out Series
Night In/Night Out was a series starring Ned and Ariel Fulmer. This show featured the couple on two different dates. One date was at home with a homemade meal (using a BuzzFeed Tasty Recipe). The other date was at a restaurant in Los Angeles. Each episode focused on one type of meal, like baked salmon. At the end, Ned and Ariel would decide if they preferred the home-cooked meal or the restaurant meal. However, the couple left BuzzFeed with the Try Guys in 2018, and the series was canceled.
Short Animated Videos
Around 2017, BuzzFeed started Animation Lab. This team focuses on short animated videos for platforms like Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Twitter. The studio has created many projects. Four of them became very popular: Weird Helga, The Good Advice Cupcake, The Land of Boggs, and Chikn Nuggit. By 2021, these four had over 17 million followers combined.
In January 2024, many people from the Animation Lab team lost their jobs. This led to the cancellation of Weird Helga and The Good Advice Cupcake.
Notable Stories and Events
"The dress" Debate
In February 2015, a post about the color of a dress became hugely popular on BuzzFeed. It started a big debate online. The post got over 28 million views in one day. This set a record for the most people looking at a BuzzFeed post at the same time. The debate was about whether the dress was blue and black or white and gold.
Watermelon Stunt
On April 8, 2016, two BuzzFeed interns created a live video on Facebook. They wrapped rubber bands one by one around a watermelon until it exploded from the pressure. This video was seen as part of Facebook's plan to encourage more live videos.
Awards and Recognition
In 2017, BuzzFeed won Webby Awards for its news app and for its podcast Another Round.
In 2018, staff from BuzzFeed News were finalists for a Pulitzer Prize. This was for their article about killings linked to Vladimir Putin. BuzzFeed later won a Pulitzer Prize in 2021. This award was for their investigative series about the Xinjiang internment camps.
See also
In Spanish: BuzzFeed para niños
- Mashable
- Mic
- The Take
- Upworthy
- Vice Media
- Vox Media
