At the beginning of January, the Instagram account FutureRiderUS was posting AI videos of a motorcycle riding through futuristic landscapes – hence the name. Those videos usually would get anywhere from 20k to 30k views. But then, the fires started.
The next day, FutureRiderUS posted its own flaming Hollywood sign video. That one got a million views.
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How much money did they make? It’s hard to say exactly, but we can estimate.Instagram pays people through programs where creators earn money based on how many views their Reels receive. The more viral a video, the longer users stay on the app, which allows Instagram to show more ads. Instagram then passes on some of the profit to the creator. How much? Meta doesn’t publish those numbers, and it varies depending on the audience that is looking at them. But I asked a few influencers, and the recent rate seems to be around $100~$120 per million views. Jason’s reporting shows that Facebook was paid out a few hundred dollars for single viral AI generated images, and Meta has paid out more than $2 billion through programs like Ads on Reels.
Just look at FutureRiderUS’s most popular posts from a roughly 24 hour stretch starting Jan 10:1m + 24m + 6m + 6m + 45m + 4m + 8m ≈ 94 million views.
That’s 94 million views, from typing in some prompts. Conservatively, this is likely worth thousands of dollars. Not a bad day’s work.
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In the comments section of their most viral post (45 million views) featuring a firefighter carrying two baby bears to safety, they posted a response to angry commenters [about the AI-generated content]. Three days after the initial post, they commented, admitting that the post is AI-generated. They said, in part:“In this video, I aimed to shed light on the reality of what is happening. These problems are very real—animals are dying, homes are being destroyed, and firefighters are risking their lives to save others. They don’t have the time to produce visually stunning and powerful footage to raise awareness about these issues. That’s why I took the initiative to create something that could help people see and truly think about these tragedies. […]
Through art, even when created by AI, we can evoke emotions, raise awareness, and inspire change.”
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This sort of defensive, it-doesn’t-matter-if-it’s-fake stance is something that we are starting to notice more, as it’s used to justify the posting (and monetization) of everything from Palestinians to flood victims. But we shouldn’t lose track of the context: the main purpose of this account is to make money. It says so right on the page.On January 18th, as the fires were still burning, FutureRiderUS posted a Reel advertising their $19.99 course on how to create viral content online by posting AI videos: “Earn $5000 a Month with Viral Videos - Zero Experience Needed - Start Today and Watch Your Life Change.”
[…] And for the account owner to suggest that they are motivated by something other than money seems disingenuous. There are no donation links, no mention of local organizations. Instead, the only call to action is to click the link to buy their viral video course.