Philip DeFranco
Person · 9 cases · 2008–2026 · American YouTube personality
How Philip DeFranco spread
DeFranco built a YouTube news audience through provocative thumbnails and commentary, then expanded through media partnerships.
- Most often
- Carried it 4 of 9
- Topics
- Entertainment 4 · Auto & mobility 1, Education 1
2006
StartSep 15 · YouTube
DeFranco created his YouTube account, originally named sxephil, while attending East Carolina University. latimes.com
2007
BreakoutAug · YouTube
His video 'Big Boobs and You' used a provocative thumbnail and drew 1.8 million views. latimes.com
2007
First pressSep 23 · Press
The Baltimore Sun profiled DeFranco and his video blogging audience. baltimoresun.com
2012
MilestoneOct · YouTube
His channel had accumulated 2 million subscribers. huffingtonpost.com
2013
MilestoneMay · Open web
Discovery's Revision3 acquired DeFranco's show and other assets, including SourceFed. variety.com
Elmo Is Just Checking In
Covered it · Jan '24
300M impressions
The Sneezing Baby Panda
Kept it going · Dec '13
220M views
Hawk Tuah girl
Carried it · Jun '24
$65K revenue
Humane AI Pin
Pushed back · Apr '24
$9M revenue
Donald Trump's AI Jesus Post
Covered it · Apr '26
1.3M views on one redraw
Drake and Ninja’s Fortnite livestream
Carried it · Mar '18
$25K revenue
Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s Shallow Oscars performance
Carried it · Feb '19
247M views on the upload
Can You Fool a Self-Driving Car?
Carried it · Mar '25
12.5M impressions
Cloverfield
Kept it going · Aug '08
$172.4M box office
Picture: Philip Defranco, CC BY 3.0, cropped