In this Passionfruit’s Weekend Roundup, it’s all about platforms. We talk about Meta’s mass exodus, Twitch’s falling numbers, MrBeast’s relationship with Reddit, and of course, an article or two about this little thing called TikTok.
It has been a historic week for the app, with the Supreme Court upholding the argument that banning the app wouldn’t compromise users’ freedom of speech. But will we really be facing a ban? Dive into our round-up to find out more.
Twitch Just Had Its Lowest Month In Viewer Counts – But It’s Not All Bad News
In December 2024, Twitch viewers watched a total of 1.58 billion hours of livestreamed content. This is arguably an impressive feat in and of itself, but this figure is actually, by all accounts, pretty low. That’s because it is Twitch’s lowest view count since July 2020.
All in all, StreamCharts’ latest stats round-up was a mixed bag for Twitch. While December saw an 11% decrease in total watch time compared to the average December, there were a few increases, too. Examples include the total number of streamers, the number of channels concurrently streaming, and the number of categories of channels streamed.
To find out more about Twitch’s stats and what they mean, click here.
MrBeast’s Reddit Problem
It’s safe to say that Jimmy ‘MrBeast’ Donaldson isn’t the biggest fan of Reddit. His latest video, ‘I Helped 2,000 People Walk Again,’ was posted on the r/YouTube subreddit and got 70,000 views. However, as reported by Steven Asarch, the post was “suddenly removed” after gaining traction on the app.
This didn’t sit well with Donaldson, who called out the moderators in an X post. But in an interview with Asarch, one mod pointed out that Automoderator took the post down while he was out “running errands.”
This situation can be interpreted as straight-up defensiveness on Donaldson’s part, but as Asarch shows, the relationship between Reddit and him is a little more complicated than that.
You can read more here.
The Four Best TikTok Alternatives To Consider If The TikTok Ban Happens
With its world-famous algorithm, there isn’t anything quite like TikTok. But with as a ban is looking more likely than ever, it’s the perfect time to consider some other avenues. And this article is essential reading if you want to decide which one.
In the piece, Jen Glantz runs through four of the most obvious choices for a TikTok replacement, including X, Twitch, Instagram, and YouTube Shorts. All four of these apps have worked to become credible competitors to TikTok over the last few years.
All of them, for instance, have implemented vertical, short-form videos and up-swiping feeds. However, it’s important to note that these apps aren’t an exact replica of TikTok, and all of them pose their own issues.
You can read the full article here.
What is RedNote, The Chinese TikTok Alternative Burning Up The App Charts?
TikTok users had the chance to do the funniest thing ever — and by flocking to RedNote, they did. RedNote, which is more commonly known as Xiaohongshu/小红书, is a China-owned social media app which, like TikTok, focuses on shortform video sharing. Founded in 2013, the company has raised over $900 million in funding and has more than 7,000 employees.
This article by Merritt K answers crucial questions about RedNote, including how it differs from TikTok, how China’s censorship plays a role in the app, how Chinese users are reacting, and whether it, too, will end up being banned in the US.
You can read the full piece here.
Users Are Abandoning Meta
Mark Zuckerberg shocked the world when he announced a number of changes coming to Meta. These include getting rid of fact-checkers, implementing user-led Community Notes, no longer downranking political content and loosening its hateful conduct moderation: so much so that Meta platforms now allow you to make comments linking queerness to mental illness.
While these changes undoubtedly pleased right-wing tech bosses like Elon Musk, the general public has been less supportive of this change. In fact, according to an NBC article, there are “hundreds of posts” from users claiming that they’re leaving Meta apps for good.
To find out more, check out our article here.
Supreme Court Upholds TikTok Ban — But Its Not Over Yet
We’ve all been on tenterhooks waiting to hear about this, and on Friday, Jan. 17, we finally got our answer. The Supreme Court unanimously agreed that banning TikTok wouldn’t be in violation of users’ First Amendment right to free speech. This, in turn, means that the incoming TikTok ban, which is meant to commence on Jan. 19, can be upheld.
However, the White House quickly followed this up with a statement clarifying that Biden would not enforce the ban on Jan. 19th, leaving it up to the Trump administration, which is set to come into power the following day. There’s always the chance that TikTok will persist with shutting the app down on Jan. 19, but otherwise, the app might not be on its last legs just yet.
You can read more here.
Passionfruit on YouTube: Joe Johnson from Tabletop Jocks
In our first Deep Linkers episode of 2025, we chatted with content creator Joe Johnson. As a keen Magic: The Gathering player, Johnson has implemented his passion for tabletop games into a creative interview format.
His show, Tabletop Jocks, has welcomed a vast range of celebrity guests in the past, including Post Malone, Joe Manganiello, Andrew Dismukes, Gabriel Luna, Lionel Williams, and Cassius Marsh, among others. And with 45,100 YouTube subscribers, Johnson’s platform just keeps growing.
To learn more about how he did it, check out the full video above.
