On Monday, streamer and content creator Hasan Piker helped raise more than $56,000 in one stream for Oliver Larkin, a former Bernie Sanders campaign staffer who is seeking to primary Jared Moskowitz, a moderate Democratic congressman from Florida. It was the most the campaign had raised “in a single day,” Larkin said on X shortly after the stream ended.
Over the past few years, creators have become an essential piece of campaign messaging strategy. But Piker’s recent stream for Larkin is the latest sign that online influence is being leveraged for direct fundraising as well.
Piker isn’t alone. Trisha Paytas, a YouTuber with more than 5 million subscribers and a long history of provocative stunts, isn’t known for her political activism, but in February she donated more than $10,000 to a campaign called Creators Against ICE. The campaign, organized by the creator collective Creators for Peace, is just one in a string of fundraisers organized by coalitions of creators turning social media followings into political fundraising machines.
Unlike traditional fundraising models like super PACs that pool funds from publicly reported donors, these creator collectives pool audiences and leverage social networks and off-the-shelf tools like Shopify and Tiltify to convert followers into donors. Creators for Peace is one of the most prominent groups in a line of creator coalitions mobilizing around causes from Gaza relief to immigration aid—establishing a model that could reshape grassroots fundraising ahead of the midterm elections.
“There are a lot of creators that I think recognize the power of having a platform,” says Hassan Khadair, one of the Creators for Peace organizers. “There’s more of a call to action culturally with creators than I think there’s ever been before.”
Creators for Peace was established in 2024 by Nikki Carreon in an Instagram group DM with a handful of other creators to raise money for Gaza relief. That group chat expanded into a more than 120-person Discord server that included influencers with millions of followers on platforms like Instagram, Twitch, and YouTube. People like Kurtis Conner, Hasan Piker, and the Try Guys, who collectively boast more than 15 million followers on their primary platforms, got involved. Members shared infographics with their audiences and organized a livestream. By the end of the campaign, the group had raised more than $1.6 million.
“We largely start from zero on each new campaign. I will individually reach out to several creators, we’ll get something out, and then once we allow that to catch fire on its own, a bunch of creators will reach out to us,” says Khadair. For the Creators for Peace immigration fundraiser, Khadair says, “we really wanted to try and move out of the leftist bubble just a little bit, because a lot of our audiences tend to align with us on these issues.”
By connecting with more apolitical creators like Paytas, the Creators Against ICE campaign has raised nearly $140,000 for the National Immigration Law Center, according to the group’s Tiltify fundraiser.
Creators have come under fire for remaining silent on political issues for years. During the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests, audiences began demanding that influencers creating content on anything from fashion to food publicly speak out and take sides on political issues. In these online spaces, silence is often seen as complicity.
Groups of Democratic political influencers, like UnderTheDeskNews, have also started raising funds for whistles to alert communities about the presence of ICE agents and community watch support as well. In February, around 80 creators were part of an anti-ICE merch fundraiser tied to Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl performance, selling T-shirts, hats, and stickers featuring the singer’s Sapo Concho mascot. The campaign raised more than $100,000 for immigration legal defense funds.
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![The New ‘Ghostbusters’ Cartoon Gets a Title and Release Date
Robert Downey, Jr.’s Doctor Doom gets an action figure. Bruce Campbell says Evil Dead has “moved away” from familiar favorites. Two new horror movies explore poodle breeding and the Civil War. They’re here already! You’re next! It’s Morning Spoilers! Brine Deadline reports Jennifer Holland (Peacemaker) and Dave Annable (Lioness) will star in Brine, a “supernatural Civil War thriller” from director B.J. Golnick. Co-starring Jonah Wharton, Sissy Sheridan, and Grayson Lay the story concerns “a family of Confederate deserters who escape the Union bombardment of Fort Pulaski with a cache of stolen gold and disappear into the Georgia marshlands. When they take refuge in a remote plantation house, what first appears to be salvation slowly reveals itself as part of something ancient, predatory and impossible to escape.” Untitled Spy Comedy Deadline also had word Henry Cavill will star alongside Kevin Hart in a currently untitled “spy comedy” at Netflix from director McG. Said to be “based on a short story by Sean Lewis,” the story follows “two rival spies who cross paths in a Lamaze class, and whose wives become fast friends. Their double lives subsequently collide in unexpectedly hilarious and dangerous ways, forcing the two men to reluctantly become confidantes and partners on the road to fatherhood.”
Breeder Variety reports Daniel Doheny, Dot Marie Jones, Maddie Phillips, and Tanaya Beatty will star in Breeder, a horror movie from director Alex Goyette that sounds quite a bit like Sssssss with poodles. The film concerns “an eccentric poodle breeder who lures a broke college student to her remote ranch with a promise of research funding. As he soon learns, there’s a catch.”
Evil Dead Burn/Evil Dead Wrath In a recent interview with Deadline, Bruce Campbell stated the Evil Dead franchise has “moved away” from Ash Williams, Sam Raimi, and the cabin in the woods. No, no. I think I think basically from Evil Dead Rise on, Ash is… you know, they wanted some little gag of Ash at the end of the movie. We did that as a lark. He’s not part of any big overriding story or scheme. [The Evil Dead has] done three things: We moved away from the cabin, we’ve moved away from Sam Raimi, we’ve moved away from Ash and Bruce Campbell. Thankfully, Evil Dead Rise made the most of any money we’ve made from any Evil Dead, so far, and it validated the fact that we can get away from those main elements. You’ve got to find a new audience, because the original Evil Dead fans, you get some of them, you’re not going to get all of them, because they like those original elements. They like me and Sam and Ash and all that sort of crap. Man of Tomorrow Lex Luthor pulls a ray gun on Superman in newly-leaked photos from the Man of Tomorrow set. David Corenswet and Nicholas Hoult filming “Superman: Man of Tomorrow” in Atlanta 05/06/26 pic.twitter.com/goNKFF8CSw — 🐤 (@hsufhkshndk11) June 6, 2026 Avengers: Doomsday A new slate of tie-in action figures provides the best looks yet at Doctor Doom, Captain America and Thor in Avengers: Doomsday.
First look at Hasbro’s Doctor Doom, Captain America and Thor action figures for ‘AVENGERS: DOOMSDAY’ 📷: @idlehandsblog pic.twitter.com/MiqHxoWKWT — Avengers Updates (@AvengersUpdated) June 7, 2026 Toy Story 5 Taylor Swift has released a music video for her song from the Toy Story 5 soundtrack comprised entirely of Jessie clips. [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDU4GB1PTxc[/embed] The Last of Us According to the Director’s Guild of Canada (via Screen Rant), filming on the third season of The Last of Us has temporarily ceased beginning June 1 and will not resume until June 28. The reason for the hiatus is not currently known. Ghostbusters: Night Shift Finally, Netflix has revealed the new Ghostbusters animated series is officially titled Night Shift and is slated for release sometime next tear. Can’t contain this one any longer. Ghostbusters: Night Shift, an original animated series, is coming to Netflix in 2027. pic.twitter.com/mZvvmpAnG0 — Ghostbusters (@Ghostbusters) June 6, 2026 Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who. #Ghostbusters #Cartoon #Title #Release #DateEvil Dead Burn,Ghostbusters: Night Shift,Man of Tomorrow,Morning Spoilers,Toy Story 5 The New ‘Ghostbusters’ Cartoon Gets a Title and Release Date
Robert Downey, Jr.’s Doctor Doom gets an action figure. Bruce Campbell says Evil Dead has “moved away” from familiar favorites. Two new horror movies explore poodle breeding and the Civil War. They’re here already! You’re next! It’s Morning Spoilers! Brine Deadline reports Jennifer Holland (Peacemaker) and Dave Annable (Lioness) will star in Brine, a “supernatural Civil War thriller” from director B.J. Golnick. Co-starring Jonah Wharton, Sissy Sheridan, and Grayson Lay the story concerns “a family of Confederate deserters who escape the Union bombardment of Fort Pulaski with a cache of stolen gold and disappear into the Georgia marshlands. When they take refuge in a remote plantation house, what first appears to be salvation slowly reveals itself as part of something ancient, predatory and impossible to escape.” Untitled Spy Comedy Deadline also had word Henry Cavill will star alongside Kevin Hart in a currently untitled “spy comedy” at Netflix from director McG. Said to be “based on a short story by Sean Lewis,” the story follows “two rival spies who cross paths in a Lamaze class, and whose wives become fast friends. Their double lives subsequently collide in unexpectedly hilarious and dangerous ways, forcing the two men to reluctantly become confidantes and partners on the road to fatherhood.”
Breeder Variety reports Daniel Doheny, Dot Marie Jones, Maddie Phillips, and Tanaya Beatty will star in Breeder, a horror movie from director Alex Goyette that sounds quite a bit like Sssssss with poodles. The film concerns “an eccentric poodle breeder who lures a broke college student to her remote ranch with a promise of research funding. As he soon learns, there’s a catch.”
Evil Dead Burn/Evil Dead Wrath In a recent interview with Deadline, Bruce Campbell stated the Evil Dead franchise has “moved away” from Ash Williams, Sam Raimi, and the cabin in the woods. No, no. I think I think basically from Evil Dead Rise on, Ash is… you know, they wanted some little gag of Ash at the end of the movie. We did that as a lark. He’s not part of any big overriding story or scheme. [The Evil Dead has] done three things: We moved away from the cabin, we’ve moved away from Sam Raimi, we’ve moved away from Ash and Bruce Campbell. Thankfully, Evil Dead Rise made the most of any money we’ve made from any Evil Dead, so far, and it validated the fact that we can get away from those main elements. You’ve got to find a new audience, because the original Evil Dead fans, you get some of them, you’re not going to get all of them, because they like those original elements. They like me and Sam and Ash and all that sort of crap. Man of Tomorrow Lex Luthor pulls a ray gun on Superman in newly-leaked photos from the Man of Tomorrow set. David Corenswet and Nicholas Hoult filming “Superman: Man of Tomorrow” in Atlanta 05/06/26 pic.twitter.com/goNKFF8CSw — 🐤 (@hsufhkshndk11) June 6, 2026 Avengers: Doomsday A new slate of tie-in action figures provides the best looks yet at Doctor Doom, Captain America and Thor in Avengers: Doomsday.
First look at Hasbro’s Doctor Doom, Captain America and Thor action figures for ‘AVENGERS: DOOMSDAY’ 📷: @idlehandsblog pic.twitter.com/MiqHxoWKWT — Avengers Updates (@AvengersUpdated) June 7, 2026 Toy Story 5 Taylor Swift has released a music video for her song from the Toy Story 5 soundtrack comprised entirely of Jessie clips. [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDU4GB1PTxc[/embed] The Last of Us According to the Director’s Guild of Canada (via Screen Rant), filming on the third season of The Last of Us has temporarily ceased beginning June 1 and will not resume until June 28. The reason for the hiatus is not currently known. Ghostbusters: Night Shift Finally, Netflix has revealed the new Ghostbusters animated series is officially titled Night Shift and is slated for release sometime next tear. Can’t contain this one any longer. Ghostbusters: Night Shift, an original animated series, is coming to Netflix in 2027. pic.twitter.com/mZvvmpAnG0 — Ghostbusters (@Ghostbusters) June 6, 2026 Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who. #Ghostbusters #Cartoon #Title #Release #DateEvil Dead Burn,Ghostbusters: Night Shift,Man of Tomorrow,Morning Spoilers,Toy Story 5](https://gizmodo.com/app/uploads/2026/06/Morning-Spoilers-June-8-1280x853.jpg)
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