Dylan Wells
Verified
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covering creators, until recently national political reporter @washingtonpost ✰ past lives @USAToday, @njhotline, @CNN, @UChiPolitics
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Articles by Dylan Wells
How creators are shaping the midterm elections
Republicans still lead with cultural creator content: Creator strategists from both sides of the aisle said Republicans are still doing a better job culturally coding conservative content instead of relying on overtly political creators.
Creator Q+A: Cheyenne Hunt
Cheyenne Hunt is an attorney, activist, organizer, strategist and creator. She was one of the first Democratic Gen Z women to run for Congress and served as the executive director of Gen-Z for Change before founding Reckoning Action, an organization created “to confront misogyny and gender bias in American public life.”
Verified: She's not a journalist. But she's helping to redefine the news.
Our first public event, Verified Live: Creators & Campaigns, is this Thursday in D.C. • Four creators break down their brand partnership wins and icks Registration for our event, Verified Live, is now closed but we’ll be covering it on our socials[instagram.com] and in this newsletter next week. The blurry line between creator and journalist Nazanin Nour started her career as an actress, model and artist.
Verified: She's not a journalist. But she's helping to redefine the news.
The blurry line between creator and journalist She’s an example of how the nature of news is changing to become a blend of traditionally trained journalists and creators who have subject-matter expertise. A recent Reuters Institute for Journalism survey found that 54 percent of global citizens cite online video or social media as their top source of news, and a separate survey from Pew Research Center found that young adults trust information from social media as much as traditional news.
Creator Q+A: What makes a winning brand partnership?
Last week I moderated a conversation for the Female Quotient at Advertising Week with four creators about what makes for the best brand partnerships. The panelists — E! Host Erin Lim Rhodes, Mary & Pip founder and CEO Mary Holland Nader, author and Rewired Talent Management founder Jason Tartick and lifestyle creator Madi Webb — had great perspectives and I wanted to share with you some of the highlights of the conversation, which can be viewed in full here.
Verified: What does creator equity actually look like?
How much creators are negotiating for at the cap table Creators want in as investors in brands and products, and founders and companies are thirsting to get them on board. But the fledgling sector of the creator economy lacks a playbook.
Creator Q+A: Ike Wynter
Ike Wynter (@ike_wynter) is a Milwaukee-based wood artist known for creating sustainable art using reclaimed, unpainted wood found on streets and dumpsters. It started as a hobby, but after going viral on social media during the pandemic, he now creates custom pieces for major clients like Mike Tyson, Crayola and the NFL.
Building a creator equity playbook
Creators want in as investors in brands and products, and founders and companies are thirsting to get them on board. But the fledgling sector of the creator economy lacks a playbook. Creators “are wanting to do more than just earn money, they’re wanting to build wealth…they’re creating a lot of enterprise value, and they don’t just want a piece of sales,” said Kate McAndrew, the co-founder of the $100 million pre-seed fund Baukunst who has also become a creator herself.
The connection between hormones and hair thinning
This article is from "What No One Told You" by Dr. Karen Tang, a board-certified gynecologist whose series is part of Featured Voices, The Washington Post’s partnership with independent creators.
Verified: Creators, tech firms, push for 'No Fakes' bill to rein in AI
OpenAI enlisting an influencer army to make it look “good for the world”
AI can copy anyone’s voice and likeness. Washington debates a solution.
Last year, Dr. Joel Bervell, who has built a social media following as a medical “mythbuster,” found an AI version of himself selling a product he had never used on YouTube. “As a physician, that was especially alarming because they weren’t just borrowing my image,” he said. “They were leveraging the trust that comes with my medical license to make it appear that I was recommending something to my audience.”
Just a Reminder, You Don’t Need an Hour Long Workout.
This article is from "One Small Change" by Jess Bippen, a registered dietician and Featured Voice, The Washington Post’s platform highlighting content from independent creators. In this week's episode of One Small Change, we're talking about movement and why doing “less” more often might actually be better for your hormones than one long session.
Verified: Creators get an audience on Capitol Hill
A reality check from creators at the launch of the Senate Creators Caucus
Congress’ creator education
Last week, a bipartisan pair of senators, Cory Booker (D-New Jersey) and John Kennedy (R-Louisiana), launched the Senate Creators Caucus, a group of legislators intended to support creators. In the basement of the U.S. Capitol complex, creators who had flown in for an event sponsored by YouTube to mark the occasion mingled with Hill staffers and lawmakers, with the hopes of highlighting real issues — from taxes to protections of their name, image and likeness — affecting them.
Why You're Exhausted Even When You're Doing Everything Right
Feeling exhausted and in a funk can happen, especially when life gets busy or you’re navigating unexpected circumstances. But when this goes on beyond a few days or even weeks and the exhaustion, overwhelm and stress become your personality, symptoms can start to appear. This is really your body’s adaptive response to stress, but what some like to call burnout.
Verified: Becoming a creator, 101
Can you study your way into becoming a creator?
Colleges mark back to school with new creator programs
Syracuse University senior Mattingly Weisholtz started posting content and building a following on TikTok and Instagram after taking an advertising class and learning about how brands work with creators during her freshman year.
Creator Q+A: Ty Hill
Ty Hill is an affiliate creator who got her start posting fitness content before becoming a faceless Amazon affiliate creator and later a LTK creator known for sharing athleisure fashion. Now, she is a 2026 LTK Awards recipient, one of the 50 creators recently recognized by the company for their ability to influence sales. According to the shopping platform, LTK creators drive more than $6 billion in annual retail sales.
One Small Change: Sesame-Glazed Salmon and Rice Bowls
This article is from "One Small Change" by Jess Bippen, a registered dietician and Featured Voice, The Washington Post’s platform highlighting content from independent creators. If you find yourself hungry shortly after eating or crashing hard in the afternoon, it often has less to do with how much you ate and more to do with how your plate was built.
Verified: We found the creator behind those aesthetic Taylor Swift TikToks
What happens when a quasi-anonymous creator becomes a TikTok main character?
Verified: We found the creator behind those aesthetic Taylor Swift TikToks
The faceless creator Swifties are obsessing over Greg Marzinsky, 30, who posts under the handle @gregory.nyc, has built a distinctive online aesthetic of moody, cinematic shots of the streets of New York City — nearly always set to a Taylor Swift song. He’s what’s known as a “faceless” creator. Until recent weeks, Marzinsky never appeared in front of the camera, and had posted only a singular, black and white profile photo in his four years posting under the handle @gregory.nyc.
The faceless creator Swifties are obsessing over
Greg Marzinsky, 30, who posts under the handle @gregory.nyc, has built a distinctive online aesthetic of moody, cinematic shots of the streets of New York City — nearly always set to a Taylor Swift song.
Creator Q+A: Boy Throb
The consistently viral band Boy Throb announced last month that member Darshan Magdum’s visa has finally been approved, teasing the band’s next era and forthcoming tour. Washington Post Creator spoke to band members Anthony Key, Evan Papier and Zachary Sobania ahead of the group’s first concert — which was held amid speculation by the government and some online fans that they are an elaborate prank — to draw attention to Magdum’s visa challenges.
Creator Q+A: Zainab Jiwa
Zainab Jiwa (@zeewhatidid) is a UK-based creator, presenter, and interviewer known for her method dressing on red carpets. After starting as a fan attending premieres, her film and fashion breakdowns during the pandemic built a dedicated community and caught the attention of major studios, like Disney.
Verified: Brands rush to cash in on Greek life
The annual university phenomenon, which originally centered at campuses in the Southeastern Conference but has become more widespread, documents the flashiness of sorority recruitment — from highly choreographed videos of sorority sisters dancing in front of elaborately decorated houses, to day-in-the-life videos from recruits on the other side of the process sharing their outfits and reflections on the experience.
Brands grab the #RushTok spotlight
The annual university phenomenon, which originally centered at campuses in the Southeastern Conference but has become more widespread, documents the flashiness of sorority recruitment — from highly choreographed videos of sorority sisters dancing in front of elaborately decorated houses, to day-in-the-life videos from recruits on the other side of the process sharing their outfits and reflections on the experience.
Verified: Brands rush to cash in on Greek life
YouTube offers creators millions to not work with Netflix; TikTok settles over child privacy concerns for $400 million
Brands grab the #RushTok spotlight
Since “RushTok” emerged in 2021, spurred by megaviral “Bama Rush” content at the University of Alabama, back to school has been marked by a surge of content documenting potential new members preparing to go Greek.
Creator Q+A: @aroundtheworldat80
Ellie Hamby and Sandy Hazelip, from East Texas, first met doing humanitarian service in Zambia and became fast friends. Now as the TikTok Traveling Grannies, @aroundtheworldat80, the pair has been to 50 countries across seven continents and built up an audience of more than 160,000 followers.
Verified: The creator cookbook takeover
Jenn Lueke on generating $670,000 of annual subscription revenue on Substack
The best ingredients for a winning creator cookbook
Cooking content is a staple online, and social media has allowed for a new cast of creator chefs, many of whom are self-taught and lack the formal training of traditional cookbook authors, to become bestsellers.
Creator Q+A: Jenn Lueke
Jenn Lueke of @jenneatsgoood is the author of the cookbook “Don’t Think About Dinner.” She grew her college Instagram account into a business and her Substack, launched in 2024, now generates $670,000 in gross annualized subscription revenue. This interview has been edited and condensed.
Verified: Climbing the Career Ladder
Disney and TikTok strike deal; YouTube is making it harder to start earning money
Creator Q+A: Caitlyn Kumi
Caitlyn Kumi is a personal finance, career and business creator, LinkedIn Top Voice, and Forbes 30 Under 30 recipient. She worked at Google before pursuing content full time and is the founder of Miss EmpowHer, a digital media company and women’s community.
Career Ladder’s Max Klymenko on creator inequality, AI anxieties, and his world tour
Max Klymenko boasts more than 16 million followers and last year was named the TikTok Awards UK & Ireland’s creator of the year. In his most popular series, the “Career Ladder,” he stands on a ladder across from a guest and attempts to guess their current job in under two minutes — or the first job of high-profile guests, from the new UK prime minister to Will Smith and Gordon Ramsay.
Verified: The political balancing act and fashioning a luxury profile
Kate Bartlett on how luxury brands work with creators
Creator Q+A: Henry Smith
Henry Smith, known by the handle @henryhenryhenryhenryhenr, worked in politics before becoming a California-based lifestyle creator with more than 1.1 million TikTok followers. He is now known for his humor, fashion and food content.
Kate Bartlett: How to fashion a career as a luxury brand creator
Creator Kate Bartlett saw overnight success…after half a decade. At age 15, Bartlett started a fashion blog as a high school student in Florida with the idea in mind that she could mention it on her resume when she applied to college, enlisting her mom to take outfit photos every day after school. She said it took almost five years before she gained more than a few thousand followers, even with consistently posting every day.
Verified: Bran Flakezz explains why “audience is boss”
@Fibula breaks down the difference between comedy online and IRL
The business of Bran Flakezz
Brandon Edelman, known by the moniker Bran Flakezz, started posting online at age 24 while working at Anthropologie’s corporate office, initially gaining a following posting about his personal life: partying and recaps of weekend hookups. By the next year, he was making enough from brand partnerships to rival his salary and decided to pursue content full time. In the years since his “craziest summer” in 2021, he’s turned his former self doubts into his strengths as a creator.
Verified: The creator twins turned founders
YouTube says it contributed over $60B to the U.S. GDP
Brigette and Danielle Pheloung break down the business of Phe Phe
CANNES, France — Danielle Pheloung says she’s fine if people call Phe Phe , the fashion and lifestyle brand she runs with her identical twin sister Brigette, “just another influencer brand.” The twins “look up to” creator-led brands like Parke, Dairy Boy and Daily Drills as inspiration, Danielle said in an interview during the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity last month.
Creator Q+A: Micky Gordon
Micky Gordon, named last week to the 2026 TIME100 Creators list, built a loyal following of more than 1.2 million TikTok followers through her comedic videos and relatable storytelling and humor. As a recent college graduate, she balanced classes with growing an audience online, and won a Webby award for her role on InStyle’s “The Intern” series, in which she plays one of the company’s content obsessed Gen-Z interns.
Verified: Creators on the pitch
WP Creator Verified: Creators on the pitch At the World Cup, creators and brands take new positions July 15, 2026 at 7:00 a.m. EDT40 minutes ago
Creators win the World Cup
Creators have a larger presence than ever at this year’s FIFA World Cup, reshaping how fans are experiencing the games. The tournament’s new partnerships with platforms like TikTok and YouTube have granted top creators unprecedented access to the pitch and pre-and-post-game moments, building a booming second-screen experience of live streams, behind-the-scenes clips and reaction videos.
Creator Q+A: Simone Scott
Simone Scott is a sports reporter known for her “For the Girls” series breaking down the biggest sports moments. She is one of 30 creators selected globally as one of TikTok and FIFA’s World Cup 2026 Creator Correspondents.
Brittany Broski breaks down ‘Royal Court’
Later this morning, the Television Academy will announce this year’s Emmy nominations. In a show of how creators are building their own production studios and Hollywood empires, YouTube entered shows by seven creators in its “For Your Consideration" slate of projects the platform is pushing for recognition. While in Cannes, I sat down with one of the creators, Brittany Broski, to discuss her creator journey and how she conceptualized “Royal Court,” her medieval-themed celebrity interview show.
Verified: Creators court Emmys
The “Love Island”-to-creator pipeline LinkedIn’s latest B2B creator push; plus the AI-driven job search Later this morning, the Television Academy will announce this year’s Emmy nominations. In a demonstration of how creators are building their own production studios and Hollywood empires, YouTube entered shows by seven creators in its “For Your Consideration" slate of projects the platform is pushing for recognition.
Creator Q+A: Jeremiah Brown
Jeremiah Brown is a creator with more than 2.1 million followers on TikTok, who gained social media notoriety after appearing on season seven of “Love Island USA” and season two of “Love Island Beyond the Villa.” Ahead of next week’s “Love Island" season eight finale, I spoke with Brown in Cannes – where he was one of the 16 creators TikTok brought to the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity – about building his profile as a creator after breaking out on reality TV.
Verified: Talk of the town from Cannes
I’m off this week for a few days of recovery from my first Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, where I interviewed many creators I’m excited to share with you. First up, in this week’s newsletter:
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