Why going viral shouldn't be on your 2026 marketing wishlist
I'll be honest, I learned what clipping culture was a few weeks ago, listening to an episode of Shameless, a pop culture podcast I've been hooked on for years. And I was surprised that I hadn't clocked it sooner, given that understanding the internet is part of my job.
Clipping culture is the practice of paying real people who own thousands of dummy accounts to clip, share, stitch, and react to content across TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. Not necessarily because they like it, but because they're being paid to.
The goal is to manufacture the feeling of organic virality. To make something look like it's everywhere because people love it.
The Vulture journalist Lane Brown did a deep investigation into this world and the numbers are staggering. One company called Flutterfly reportedly operated 65,000 dummy social media accounts at its peak, posting 50,000 videos a day across platforms. According to the article, one clipping agency claimed a recent campaign cost a client less than $10,000 and generated nearly 100 million views. Artists from Dua Lipa to Justin Bieber have been listed as clients of clipping agencies. From seemingly grassroots success stories to betting platforms that appeared from nowhere and viral podcast clips all may have had a very expensive helping hand.
This has become a way for brands to advertise without declaring so.
If the entire machinery of online virality is potentially a paid narrative campaign in disguise, what does that mean for how the rest of us think about "going viral" as a comms goal?
The viral fantasy needs to be put to bed
For years, "going viral" has been treated as the holy grail of digital marketing. The dream: post something that the internet picks up, shares millions of times, and suddenly your brand has reach that no budget could buy. But clipping culture exposes how hollow that dream actually is. Because the brands and artists that "go viral" in 2026 have done because they’ve been guaranteed it.
Here's my take: in 2026, going viral shouldn't be on your wishlist at all.
Your community isn't the whole internet
The fundamental mistake in chasing virality is the assumption that reaching more people is always better. But most brands, organisations, and businesses don't need to reach everyone on the internet, instead they need to reach the right people.
A PR campaign that lands your story in front of 100 decision-makers in your sector is worth infinitely more than a meme that gets 200,000 views from people who will never buy your product, invest in your company, or care about your cause.
Clipping culture has reaffirmed what I’ve been seeing for a while. The most valuable brand relationships in 2026 are being built in smaller communities, like Instagram Broadcast Channels, WhatsApp Communities or Discord servers.
Rather than broadcasting into the void and hoping the algorithm plays ball, brands can ask questions, gather feedback, share exclusive content and actually hear back; turning followers into a community that feels invested in what you're doing.
You don't need to go viral. You need to be credible to the people who matter to you.